Treble Clef
by Silver Falcon
Summary: She was just a girl looking for a job, but this job landed her with a family and a certain high school with a certain group of mutants that we all know and love...
1. Musical Ears

Treble Clef  
  
By Silver Falcon  
  
Chapter One  
  
Pixus saw the Help Wanted sign on the door of the nightclub; it was bright yellow, and it stood out from the navy blue paint on the walls of the building. She bounced her book bag higher on her shoulder and walked closer to the sign.  
  
"Must be able to play keyboard," she said, reading the fine print at the bottom of the poster. "Pays ten dollars an hour depending on how good you are. See clerk for more info."  
  
Pixus smiled. Finally, a job offer she couldn't refuse, but would they refuse a seventeen year old? Her smile faded and her expression drooped.  
  
"Well, only one way to find out," she said, grabbing the handle of the door and pulling it open.  
  
It was a lot cooler inside than it was outside, and it was also a lot darker inside. The floor consisted of a tile area around the door and gray carpet, while the walls were blue. There were a few wall lamps around, and there was a cheaply made chandelier hanging overhead. There were chairs that lined the walls, some more comfortable than others. She looked at the lonely woman sitting at the desk reading a magazine. She had brown hair that was put up in a neat bun, and she wore a blue business suit. The woman put down the magazine when she heard the door close, her eyes glancing up at the newcomer. There were no words exchanged between them as Pixus neared the desk, but that was understandable. It wasn't everyday that someone saw a girl with pink hair.  
  
"Can I help you?" she asked in a very confused tone.  
  
"Yes, can you tell me more about the Help Wanted poster outside?"  
  
The woman looked at her for a second like she was crazy. "Darlin', aren't you a little young to be working this hard? Where are your parents?"  
  
She shook her head. "I don't have any."  
  
The woman looked at the floor in shame. "Oh, sorry. Well, auditions are in the door to my right. If you have any questions, just ask me," she stated, smiling. "Good luck with your audition," she said, pointing to the door once again.  
  
"Thanks," she said, disappearing into the audition room.  
  
It was almost pitch black inside the room, but Pixus could see a light a good distance away. There wasn't anyone else around that she could see.  
  
"Hello?" she called, her voice echoing through the large room.  
  
She heard a distant crash, followed by a clang, and finally a very distinctive 'oomph!'  
  
"Hold…ow…Be right there!" a man's voice yelled.  
  
Pixus walked in the direction of the voice, and saw a man trying to make his way through a sea of musical instruments. She stood there in silence and watched him. After lifting an old tuba out of his way, he stood up and dusted himself off.  
  
"Name's Jack Gallan. You here for an audition?" the large man asked.  
  
"Yes, sir," she answered calmly.  
  
The red-haired man reached behind him with his right arm and scratched his back. He wore a stained t-shirt and a worn pair of jeans with big, dark boots. He had a tiger tattoo on his arm and a skull on his neck.  
  
"Well, what instrument do you play?" he asked, his voice deep but cheerful.  
  
"Any one you give me," she said, waving her arm towards the sea behind him.  
  
"Hmm. Well, that won't be necessary, but how good are you with a keyboard?" he said, tipping his baseball cap back a bit and bending down to look at her.  
  
"Had it mastered at three," she said, smiling.  
  
Jack also smiled. "Well, let's see what you got. Follow me."  
  
He stood straight up and walked through the sea of instruments, muttering to himself on how big of a mess it was. He led her to another door and opened it for her. She walked through it and found herself nearly blinded by the well-lit area. Jack came in close behind her, put his hands on his hips, and laughed.  
  
"This is the stage. No one's here yet, but the club opens at ten. So, I have plenty of time for you," he chuckled.  
  
The room was mainly flat, but there were a few oddities that made the place stand out. For instance, a catwalk overhead was decorated with bright lights and pieces of crystal. The dance floor consisted of brightly colored pieces of tile that had been laid in a beautiful pattern on the floor. The stage was decorated with more shards of crystal hanging overhead and colored lights on the ceiling.  
  
"Wow, this place is big."  
  
"Yeah. Stay here and let me go get the keyboard," he said, walking off in the opposite direction. He disappeared into the darkness, and Pixus heard another commotion. "Damn it! Those stupid boys think they run the place…ah. Here it is." He came back with an electric keyboard tucked safely in his arms and a pad of music in his teeth. "Sorry, but I couldn't find the stand to it. I'll have to ask the boys where they put it."  
  
Pixus smiled. "It's not a problem at all," she said, taking the keyboard out of his hands.  
  
She sat down on the stage and held the keyboard in her lap. While she was setting it up just the right way, Jack made his way to the back of the room, sprinting the entire way.  
  
"Okay!" he yelled from the back. "You know any songs in there?"  
  
"Yeah, I've played most of them before," she yelled back.  
  
"You know Smash Mouth?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"Play…uh… 'All Star!' I think it's on page 11."  
  
Pixus laughed. "Page 11," she muttered, flipping through the music sheets.   
  
Jack chucked. "Okay, whenever you're ready!"  
  
Pixus pushed a key to adjust the volume. "You hear that?"  
  
"Yeah, I heard it!"  
  
She decided that she would play it in electric guitar first and try new instruments later if she got the job. She placed her hands on the keyboard and propped her music up on her feet. She began to hit the keys, glancing at her music few times during the excerpt from the song. She keyed the song with no flaws, but it seemed like a very long time before she finished.  
  
Jack's applause in the back was a comfort. "Way to go, kid!" he yelled, coming back to the stage.  
  
"Thanks."  
  
He crawled on the stage and stood up. "This your first job?"  
  
"Yeah, I don't have a resume or any money," she said, standing up with the keyboard under her arm.  
  
Jack nodded and grinned impishly. "Well, you play like a pro, kid, so I'll pull a few strings. Come on. Let's go find Marcie."  
  
"Marcie?"  
  
"Yeah," he said, opening the door for her again. "The woman at the front desk. Did you see her when you came in?"  
  
"Oh, her. Yeah."  
  
Pixus followed him into the room with the sea of instruments and into the room where the woman was.  
  
"How was your audition?" she asked, smiling.  
  
"Marcie, she's gotten a front row seat to a new job. Kid's talented," Jack said, chuckling up a storm.  
  
Marcie began to dig for something in her desk. She drew a clipboard from her desk drawer and handed it to Pixus.  
  
"Okay, I need you to fill this out, and welcome to Night Sun."  
  
Pixus took the clipboard and pencil that was offered to her and retired to one of the seats along the wall. The first line read: Full Name.  
  
'Pixus Raise.'  
  
Age.  
  
'17.'  
  
Gender.  
  
'Female.'  
  
Address.  
  
'N/A.'  
  
City.  
  
'Bayville.'  
  
Phone Number.  
  
'N/A.'  
  
When Pixus finally stood up, she noticed that Jack and Marcie were looking at her.  
  
"Here," she said, handing the clipboard back to Marcie.  
  
Jack walked past her and picked up the black bandana on the floor before handing it back for her. Pixus covered her forehead hurriedly. She looked at the floor and started to back towards the door.  
  
"Where are you going?" Marcie asked.  
  
Pixus stopped and turned around, holding her hand over the vertical, purple eye on her forehead. "Aren't you afraid?"  
  
Jack laughed. "No. I have a little brother who is a mutant. It's not a big deal to us."  
  
Pixus turned around. "Really?"  
  
"Pixus Raise? You don't live anywhere?"  
  
Pixus shook her head, her hair shaking from side to side. Jack curiously turned his head to look at the clipboard. He glanced up at Pixus with a confused expression.  
  
"You're homeless?"  
  
"Well, yeah."  
  
Jack looked at Marcie and whispered something to her. "We might be able to fix you a place here, but you'd have to help us."  
  
Pixus smiled. "No problem."  
  
"So, Pixie, what's your power?"  
  
"Foresight."  
  
Jack pulled up a chair and sat down in it. "Well, girls, it's seven o'clock. Who wants a bite to eat?"  
  
Pixus shook her head sadly. "I don't have any money."  
  
"Hey, it's on the house. Think of it as a welcome present," he said, standing up and tipping his hat. "Welcome to the family."  
  
"Who's for Chinese?" Marcie said happily. "Pixie, you for Chinese?"  
  
"Sounds great."  
  
Jack took a loop of keys out of his pocket. "Marcie, take her to the car. I'll lock up and be out in a sec."  
  
Marcie nodded and touched Pixus' shoulder gently. Pixus followed her outside to a black Viper. Marcie hopped into the passenger seat, and Pixus found comfort in the back seat.  
  
Marcie turned around and smiled at her. "You must be really good. He usually doesn't hire people that fast."  
  
"Are you and him an item?" Pixus asked, before quickly adding, "if its okay for me to ask."  
  
"Oh, yeah. Engaged for four months. Okay, my turn. What's with the eye?"  
  
Pixus tied the bandana around her head. "I can't see much out of it, but I know stuff. I can see the future when it's opened and exposed. I keep it covered all the time because I don't like knowing the future."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Well, imagine if you knew everything that would happen to you for the rest of your life. It wouldn't be worth living. I just use it to stay out of trouble."  
  
"Is that your only power?"  
  
"Well, no. I have a lot of talent with music, like I can make magical things happen if I play this," she said, digging into the pocket of her dark trench coat. She pulled out a blue flute that was shaped like a "Y."  
  
"But…isn't that cheating?"  
  
"No, I really can play instruments. Music is my life."  
  
"That must be neat," Marcie said, glancing out of the window. "Oh look, Jack's coming."  
  
Pixus looked out of the window and saw the spiky-haired man nearing the car. He opened the driver's door and got inside, sliding his keys into the ignition.  
  
"Well, Chinese, right? We're off!" he roared.  
  
It had been a long time since she had ridden in a car. Pixus stared at the midline in the road, counting the stripes as they went by. It was hard to ride in a car, especially for her. Would they notice that her coat was stretched a little? Hopefully not.  
  
"Hey, Pixie, where are you from?" Marcie's chirping voice asked.  
  
Pixie thought about it for a minute. What was she supposed to say?  
  
"I don't know. I've been a wanderer ever since I was little. I just appeared one day."  
  
Jack looked in the rear view mirror, adjusting it so he could see her. "You just appeared? You have amnesia?"  
  
She looked at him and shrugged. "I really don't know."  
  
Marcie's expression changed to one of concern. "And you don't have anywhere to live? You poor thing. Do you go to school?"  
  
"Well, no, but I've always been intelligent."  
  
"Have you ever gone to school?"  
  
"Yes. I finished Junior High without people suspecting I was on my own, but, a few years ago, I was found out, so I was forced to run."  
  
"Aww. That's horrible. Well, I would invite you to live with us, but we don't have a home, either. We live at Night Sun. It saves a lot of money, at least, until we get found out."  
  
"Yeah, I told her that we would fix her a place. We can play her parents for a while too. Get her enrolled at Bayville High," Jack said, grinning at her through the mirror. "Would that be okay? You could live with us for a while."  
  
"I have only known you for an hour, are you sure?" she asked squeamishly, rubbing her forehead.  
  
"Oh, please! When you work at the Night Sun, we're all family. Even the boys are like a family to us, when they're actually around," she said, rolling her eyes.  
  
"Well, if it's not going to be any trouble, I guess so. But I don't know anyone at the high school."  
  
"Don't worry. You're bound to make new friends," Marcie said, laughing. "You're a very pretty girl."  
  
"With pink hair and blue eyes," she groaned.  
  
The car came to a stop. "We're here! Let's talk some more about this inside!" Jack cheered, opening his car door.  
  
Pixus opened her car door and slid outside, making sure that no one would suspect anything unusual. She looked at the Chinese restaurant. It didn't look very flashy at all.  
  
Jake noticed her estranged expression as she looked at the run down place. "Oh, don't worry. This place serves the best food for forty miles. It keeps all the rich, flashy folk away with the outside look, but inside, it's a dream."  
  
Pixie nodded and followed the couple in. Inside, the place was covered in bright red carpet. The walls were hand carved with beautiful murals of dragons and temples. Round lanterns hung on the ceiling, making a long line down the halls.  
  
"Wow, you were right," Pixie said, smiling.  
  
Jack walked up to the hostess and left Marcie to talk to Pixie. "Well, my name is Marcie Dign, and his is Jack Gallan. I'm 35, and he's 39. We've been in the Night Sun for a few years now. He's a really sweet guy, but he usually puts on his tough guy impression to intimidate trouble makers from the club."  
  
"Why were you surprised that he took so kindly to me?"  
  
"Well, usually he's really rough on the newcomers, but he loves to clean, and that's exactly what he's been doing all day, so he was calm when he met you," she said. "Plus, you have good charisma."  
  
"Thanks."  
  
"Why do you travel alone? Why not band together with someone and go?"  
  
"Because I only get people hurt," she whispered softly.  
  
Marcie looked at her with wide eyes. "Darlin', what do you mean by that?"  
  
"Nothing," she smiled. "Just some boy trouble."  
  
"Ah," Marcie said, smiling. "I had some boy trouble too, when I was in school. I had to beat them off with a stick!"  
  
Marcie laughed quietly and smiled.  
  
"How did you meet him?" Pixie asked, nodding her head towards Jack.  
  
"Oh, well… I used to work in a bar, and one day I got swamped by some drunk regulars who decided that they wanted a piece of my ass. He just happened to be a bouncer at a fancy restaurant across the street. He saw me and beat them off."  
  
"How heroic."  
  
"Yeah. It was like a fairy tale. You know. The damsel in distress gig."  
  
"He seems like he really loves you."  
  
"He does, although he doesn't say it very often. He's a sweet heart."  
  
Jack motioned for them to come. They followed the hostess to their table, a beautiful wooden table made of mahogany and covered in a white table cloth. Pixie sat down and looked at the menu. The Korean woman that they followed turned around and took their drink orders. She hurried off to fulfill them, and left them alone.  
  
"So, Marcie, can you enroll her sometime this week? Go by the school and talk to the principal? I'll see what I can do to put her room in next to ours."  
  
"I don't know how to thank you enough. I really don't."  
  
"Hey, don't worry. Marcie knows what it's like to be an orphan. We always open our doors to anyone who needs help."  
  
Marcie smiled. "Yes, we'll just adopt you into the family! If the boys don't understand, well, we'll team up against them. Girl power, right?"  
  
Pixus smiled. "Right." 


	2. First Day

Treble Clef  
  
By Silver Falcon  
  
Author's Note: Special thanks to Kitty for giving me my first review. ^.^ Thanks, Kitty!  
  
Chapter Two  
  
She had made it through half the day by herself. Since the beginning of school, she had received three books, each one about the size of Canada and weighing in at a bloodcurdling ton each. She ate the sandwich that Marcie had packed for her slowly, reading each line of her Biology book with content. Sure, it wasn't the best thing to read, and she had read better, but right now, she wasn't to be picky. She would have to check out the library after school. It had been kind of Marcie to offer to drive her home, but she replied that she would walk home instead of getting a lift. Marcie seemed very surprised, but even Pix knew that most teenagers hated to walk anywhere except the movies or the mall.  
  
Pix drank the soda that she had gotten from the vending machine and continued to read about the Plant Cells and Photosynthesis. She wondered if anyone had ever sat and watched a flower grow. It was a beautiful experience, and since she would never starve or need much water, she had sat there and watched it bloom. She didn't get any sleep for about two weeks, but she had witnessed something that humans could only do by taping it and watching it by speeding it up.  
  
She grabbed the piece of paper that she had kept in her pocket since her first class. She had homework in Biology and her Literature class, but she had already read her Literature book. She didn't have any in her Social Studies class, but, then again, she knew everything about the world that the world had to offer.  
  
Pix turned the page and finished off the soda completely, letting the last drop drain into her mouth. With one swift motion, she slammed the can against her forehead, flattening it out. Without looking up, she tossed the slab into the air and felt fulfilled when she heard it smash into the bottom of the nearest garbage can. She felt the table quiver a little as the boy sat down in front of her.  
  
"That was cool! Where'd ya' learn to do that?" he asked, pointing to the garbage can.  
  
She glanced up at him and found herself staring into gray green eyes and a grinning face. He had a strange color of hair that consisted of a mixture of green and brown. She stared at him for a few minutes then lowered her gaze to her book.  
  
"Hometown kids did that a lot," she answered, her voice low and bored.  
  
"Where you from?" he asked, moving his head lower so he could look into her eyes.  
  
"Dunno," she answered slowly.  
  
"What grade you in?"  
  
"Tenth," she replied. "You?"  
  
"Well, I'm a freshman, but it's cool yo," he said, before he noticed that he had lost her interest. He scratched the back of his neck with a puzzled expression on his face, then offered his hand to her. "My name's Todd, but if ya' want, you can call me Toad!"  
  
Pixie chuckled and looked up at him, taking his hand in hers and shaking it lightly. "Name's Pixus, but you can call me Pix."  
  
"Pixus? Wow. Isn't that a bug?" he asked, licking his lips.  
  
"Well, sorta. Mythological pixies were the mischievous counterparts of fairies," she laughed awkwardly.   
  
Pix closed her Biology book and put it in her pack. She crumpled her napkin up and put it in the right pocked of her coat.  
  
"You have any friends yet?" Toad asked, getting out of his current chair and moving to the one next to her.  
  
"Well, you're the only one that's talked to me today besides the teachers," Pix said sadly.  
  
"Ah. Well, don't blame them. It's not everyday that you see a gorgeous girl with pink hair and blue eyes," he said, smiling sweetly.  
  
She laughed. "I guess not, but I don't bite. Just because I have pink hair gives them no reason to be afraid."  
  
"Well, from what I've heard, the girls think you have horrible fashion sense, and the boys think you're hot. My girl would like your clothes, but she doesn't like pink."  
  
"Yeah, well, I can't really help it. I get sick of looking at pink, but I don't want to dye my hair."  
  
"Isn't that dye?" he asked, scratching his head.  
  
"No, I was born with white hair, and when I was five, it turned pink," she said, grabbing a few strands of hair and holding them in front of her face.  
  
"Wow. That's cool yo!"  
  
"So, you have any friends?" she asked, not wanting to seem mean in any way.  
  
"Oh yeah! Some of them are really weird though."  
  
Pix laughed. "Hey, nothing's wrong with being weird!"  
  
Toad seemed to consider this for a minute, and then he nodded vigorously and laughed. "Yeah, the weirder the better!"  
  
They laughed.   
  
"So, do you have any hobbies?" she asked, calming herself down to breathe.  
  
"Ya'. I collect bugs yo. Every boy's dream! You have hobby?"  
  
"Music," she replied simply. "I play music for a night club."  
  
"Wow! That must be a blast."  
  
"I gotta play tonight. I think boss said it'll be my last behind curtain play, but I don't know how good I'll be in front of a crowd."  
  
"Stage fright?"  
  
"Well, it's not that. I've played in front of crowds before, but you just have the fear that you'll mess up, ya' know?" she said resting her face in her open hands.  
  
Suddenly, the lunch bell rang. Toad jumped out of his seat and waited for her to climb out of hers.  
  
"So, what's your next class? I'll make sure you won't get lost," he said, stretching his arms toward the ceiling.  
  
"Uh, Trigonometry," she groaned. "Math..."  
  
Toad made a gagging sound. "Ek. Math. Well. I'll take you like I said yo, but I don't likes anything with numbers."  
  
Pix laughed and nodded. "Lead on, frog man!"  
  
Toad seemed agitated. He stood up as tall as he could and pointed his finger at her face. "Hey, chick! It's Toad, not frog!" He smiled and patted her on her shoulder. "So keep it in mind, or I'll call you bug from now on."  
  
She laughed and nodded. "Understood."  
  
"Now, come on, or you're going to be late!" Toad yelled.  
  
"Won't you be too?" she asked as he hurried her down the hall.  
  
He shook his head. "I'm always late yo. Fashionably late!"  
  
Her trig class wasn't as far away from the cafeteria as she thought it would be. Toad led her to the door and stopped before doing a somersault and dashing off in another direction.  
  
From behind the lockers, Toad watched as she disappeared into the classroom. Pietro appeared behind him and knocked him to the floor.   
  
"So, given up on my sister, worm?" he sneered. "Blob said you were following a babe today."  
  
Toad stood up and shook his head with a love-struck look in his eyes. "How could I ever forsake my beautiful scarlet baby? I was just trying to get this girl on our side so she wouldn't join the X-Geeks."  
  
"She's a mutant?" Pietro asked with wide eyes.  
  
"She's got pink hair, and she said she was born with it yo. If that ain't a mutant, I don't know what is. Plus," Toad began before grinning impishly and holding the information for a terribly long time. "She smells like a dragonfly, very strong, very spicy, and very fast." Toad stood up and pointed to the door that she had gone in. "If you wanna meet her, she's in there. She's the only girl at school with pink hair."  
  
"Pink hair? Toad, what have you been smokin'?"  
  
"Ain't been smoking nothing," he assured. "Wait until she gets out and you'll see for yourself, speedy."  
  
Toad, occasionally bouncing, ran down the hallway and disappeared around the corner. Pietro shrugged the information off and walked to class as well, wondering what kind of power this "dragonfly", as Toad had put it, had.  
  
The Trigonometry class had been surprisingly easy for her first session. Even though they were in the middle of their class, she knew exactly what they were talking about and exactly how to do it. Funny, math had never really been her thing in school. Band had been, but, even if this school had a band, it was too late in the year to join it. She would have to wait until next year if she was here that long.  
  
Maybe she would stay. Marcie treated her like a sister, and Jack was a nice man to have around. She hadn't met the "boys" yet. Not really anyway. They were longhaired garage band members that decided to work for the couple a while back. They simply thought she was there for an autograph and signed her song sheet, not knowing that she had been their backup for the entire play. That's what a backstage act was. She would play the exact same song they were playing, but in a different instrument than they were. They must have not noticed the music behind them.  
  
Oh well, they would soon enough. This was the last time she would be in the backstage act. After the one tonight, she was on stage, playing the electric keyboard. She was excited, but she was nervous. What if people saw her secret? What would happen if her trench coat flew up unexpectedly and she was exposed to strangers? Not to mention the "boys", Marcie, and Jack.  
  
Oh the humility! They would make her leave for sure.  
  
But, she had made progress school-wise. She had met Todd the Toad. He didn't smell like the most cleanest of animals, but she had been worse at one point in her life, so she wasn't about to complain. It was hard being human, especially with the secret that she had and the curse of wearing her annoying coat everywhere she went.  
  
When the bell rang, she poked her Trigonometry book in her bag with the rest of her school books. She poked her pencil in the smallest pocket on her book bag and slung it over her shoulder, before standing up and waiting until most of the crowded room had been vacated.  
  
"You're the new kid, right? I totally dig your hair!" she heard a squeaky voice say.  
  
She turned around and saw a pretty brunette with her hair pulled back in a ponytail. "My name's Kitty!"  
  
"Pixie," she said, returning the smile that Kitty was giving her.  
  
"Like, I have to go, but I'll see you tomorrow!" she said, leaning forward and patting Pixie on her shoulder.  
  
Kitty ran beside her and left the room, leaving Pixie confused as ever in the once again, almost empty room. A flirting couple in the corner was the only people left aside from the teacher. The girl glanced at her every few seconds, and finally Pix made it out the door. She stood in the crowded hallway and looked around.  
  
She had glanced at her map a few minutes earlier and knew that her next class was all the way across the building, right next to the gym. The art class would, hopefully, be more fun than her other classes, but she knew she probably would only stay in that class until they gave her a permanent schedule to go by.  
  
She ran down the hallway, taking great care not to bump into anyone. Pix went down a hallway and realized that the red-head that she saw in the trig classroom was following her.  
  
"You have art, too?" she asked when she saw that Pix had turned to look at her.  
  
"Yes, is that where you're going?"  
  
The pretty girl nodded. "Yes, come with me." Pix waited until she caught up with her and followed her down the hallway. "I saw you met Kitty already. My name is Jean, Pixie."  
  
"Nice to meet you, Jean."  
  
"What grade are you in?"  
  
"Tenth," Pix replied, pulling her map out and staring at it.  
  
"You seem older than tenth grade."  
  
Pixie nodded. "I'm seventeen, and they placed me in tenth grade because I've never been to ninth. I've been on my own since the end of middle school."  
  
"Hmm. Well, Bayville's a nice school. I like it."  
  
"I'm beginning to like it, although it was a shock to see that girl come up to me. Kitty, right?"  
  
Jean laughed. "Oh, Kitty. Yes, but she's very friendly."  
  
"She seems to be."  
  
"She is. Well, we're here. I won't be able to talk to you after class, because I have to go to gym, but I hope I see you later," she said, smiling.  
  
Pixie followed her in and took the first empty seat that she came to, having a weird feeling that she was being watched.  
  
Watched, indeed she was.  
  
Pietro stood just outside the door, surprised that Jean hadn't sensed him. The little worm was right. The new mutant had pink hair, but what was with the coat? She looked like Gambit's long lost little sister. She was pretty, though. She had a very outgoing hair color. She had clothing that made a statement. She had the most beautiful eyes he'd ever seen on a girl. Too bad they weren't prettier than his. He'd be proposing before the day was out if they were.  
  
So, she was new in town. He'd have Toad do a little spy mission for him tomorrow to see what he could dig up on her. He would impress her with his charm, and, by the end of the week, she would be his for the taking.  
  
It seemed like forever while she waited for the bell to ring. Finally, her wish was granted, and it rang, letting school out for the day.  
  
She had a lot of homework to do, and she knew Marcie would want her to do it when she got home. Pixie fell into a trance as she made it to the steps outside the school. With her bag slung over her shoulder, the pink-haired girl left the steps and went over to the closest tree to lean and ponder about things.  
  
"Pix!" she heard a voice call. She turned around and saw Toad running towards her with a silver-haired boy and a fat guy following him. "Pix, wait!"  
  
"Todd…hi!" she said, raising her arm and waving at him.  
  
"I want you to meet some of my buds before ya' go. Dis' here's Pietro, and dis' is Freddy."  
  
Pietro took a long sweeping bow and righted himself, while Freddy just stood there, confused.  
  
"Well, hi, guys. Nice to meet you," she said, sliding her hand through her hair.  
  
Blob stood there dumbfounded and looked at Toad who was winking and pointing to Pietro. The proud leader stood with unmoving eyes, and Pix and he seemed to be engaged in a staring contest. She, all of a sudden, drew her hand up and covered his eyes, laughing.  
  
"Ha ha, you lose!" she chirped.  
  
Pietro made a quick grab for her hand, but he released it quickly when Toad nudged him in the side. Normally, he would have snarled back at the freshman, but he was in the presence of a lady that he wanted to impress, so he thought otherwise about it.  
  
Pixie could smell the lust that perspired off of him. She had to admit, he was adorably handsome, but the last time she had a boyfriend, it ended tragically. She had left the matter alone since then.  
  
"I am truly sorry to cut this time short, but I have to be going. Good evening, Freddy, Todd, Pietro," she said, nodding to each boy as she said his name.  
  
She walked past them and began to trot down the sidewalk. It was weird the way some boys would fall in love at first sight, but it was a beautiful thing. She had seen it happen so many times to other girls. It was a very beautiful thing.  
  
Pixie sighed. Love wasn't for her. It never was, and it never will be. There was the first time that she had made that folly, and it ended up in taking his life, while she was left unscratched by the claws of time.  
  
As her memory drifted back, she felt tears fall down her cheeks. She quickly mopped them up with her sleep, sobbing quietly.  
  
"No, don't remember," she told herself sternly. "You mustn't remember."  
  
She dried her eyes some more when she sensed someone coming. She turned around to see Pietro running up to her.  
  
"Wait, Pixie!" he called. She stopped and waited on him patiently. "May I escort you home?"  
  
Pixie smiled and nodded. "Of course, but how will you get home?"  
  
"I have my ways," he said with a grin.  
  
"What ways would that be?"  
  
He quickly ran a circle around her, leaving her wide-eyed and breathless.  
  
"Super speed," he answered, righting her again with a kind hand on her shoulder.  
  
"Oh," she answered, still dazed. "That's…interesting."  
  
He smiled. "Are you okay?"  
  
"Just…dizzy. I'll be fine."  
  
He smiled and lifted her bag off of her shoulder. "I'll get that for ya'."  
  
"Th…thanks." She stood still for a moment and rubbed her eyes. "So, you're a mutant?"  
  
"Yes. So is Toad and Fred."  
  
"Really?" she asked as they began walking again. "I knew they sensed funny."  
  
"So where do you live?"  
  
Pixie scratched the back of her neck. "I live in a dance club that I play for."  
  
"Wow. You live in a dance club? Which one?"  
  
"Night Sun," she answered.  
  
"That's the old one, isn't it?" Pietro said with a disgusted look.  
  
She nodded. "The outside looks old, but the inside's beautiful."  
  
"Hm. Maybe I'll have to come see it for myself. What do you do there?"  
  
"Play whatever music on whatever instrument they tell me to."  
  
"Is your boss an evil monster?" Pietro said.  
  
Pixie laughed. "No. He and his wife-to-be are sorta playing my parents right now."  
  
"Are you an orphan or something?" Emotionlessly, she nodded, peering down at the ground. "I'm so sorry."  
  
"I never knew my parents. It's no big deal."  
  
He wrapped his arm around her shoulder. "How'd you like school?"  
  
"It was okay. I met a girl named Jean and a girl named Kitty who kinda vanished on me. Jean's nice, though."  
  
Pietro hid his repulsed disgust and smiled. "Seems like you've made a good start for yourself."  
  
Pixie heard a clock chime in the distance. "Oh no! It's five! I'm going to be late!"  
  
"Night Sun, here we come!" Pietro said, bending over and picking her off the ground.  
  
Pixie let out a surprised squeal, but when she blinked, he had stopped, right in front of the Night Sun. "Whoa. That was…fun."  
  
He put her down and bowed. "I must be off as well. See you tomorrow." He slid her back off his shoulder and handed it to her.  
  
"Bye…," she said slowly.  
  
He winked at her and disappeared in a cloud of dust and leaves.  
  
Pixie stood there, confused and dazed. She ran her hand through her hair and turned around, running into the Night Sun.  
  
***  
  
Hope you liked! ^.^ Once again, thanks Kitty! :) 


	3. Birds, Toads, and Action Novels

Treble Clef  
  
By Silver Falcon  
  
Chapter Three  
  
Pix sat under a tree in the courtyard, reading her Biology book. She turned the pages carefully, since the book was new and she didn't want to damage it and have to pay fifty dollars for a book this size. It was about two hours before school started, and she had arrived early to be alone for a while. She had walked to school and left a note for Marcie telling her where she was.  
  
She loved listening to silence, especially when it was near trees. Then, the silence wasn't silence; it was an orchestra of raw emotions and feelings being drummed from tree to tree, flower to flower. The wind sang songs immune to human hearing, songs of remembrance, love, and life. The grass spoke in soft whispers that echoed each time the wind made them ripple in flowing waves of green. The stones spoke tales of times past and distant places far away. The earth that she sat upon sang with all the passion of the human heart and then some. It was the greatest voice that she heard out of them all. The love of God was a very beautiful thing.  
  
Humans had neglected the Earth too much to hear the songs it sang. They had lost the ability when she was young, but she had heard it since she was just a baby. She remembered speaking about the voices to human children, who just pushed her around and left her to cry by herself. Humans had hurt her so much, yet now, she protected them.  
  
Her mind drifted back to the stone angel that lived in paradise. The little boy named Jerry had been her only friend. He had taught her that the humans, although neglectful and cruel, could be kind and loving. He showed her that he had done all in his power to protect those who needed protection, even though they were cruel to him. Because of his mutant power, he felt a larger responsibility for their safety, although they did not always hold one for him. It wasn't revenge or death that he wanted to strive for, it was life and love.  
  
'Life and love,' his words echoed in her mind. 'Protect them for they are the only way for us to truly live life completely.'  
  
He had changed her forever. Since she had met him, the music of Gaia had been louder and clearer. He claimed he heard it too, and she believed him. He was the most honest person that she knew, and he never lied, not even to his enemies. He was a carrot top and a really cute one at that. He had big green eyes that just shouted innocence.  
  
She missed the little bugger. She missed Jerry, but it would be a while before she would visit that particular marsh in Georgia again. There were too many memories there, and that's precisely the reason she had placed him there, but sometimes, visiting wasn't the best idea. She would get too emotional, and then she wasn't on her best watch. Being emotional also made her a very easy target.  
  
She really needed to go to the library, since she was beginning to tire of her Biology book. Pix wondered what kind of book she wanted to get. Most likely, she would pick a good fiction book about dragons or unicorns. She loved what humans didn't believe. It was so interesting to read something that analyzed the things she knew perfectly.  
  
She glanced up as she saw a bird chirp and land a few feet away from where she was sitting. Being very quiet, she turned the page slowly and pretended not to notice it.  
  
'Hey!' it said. 'What are you doing?'  
  
She looked up at the blue jay and smiled. Birds weren't timid creatures at all, but they were easily angered and very proper. Most of the time when they tried to talk to humans, the humans, of course, wouldn't answer them and this would upset them, so they would fly off. They didn't enjoy being chased by people either. It was highly annoying.  
  
"Reading, kind sir," she answered, smiling and nodding her head politely.  
  
'Reading?' it said, tilting its head to the side and hopping a few inches closer. 'What are you reading?'  
  
Pix straightened her legs and put the book at the end of her feet about an inch away from the bird. "It's what the humans think about the world. I'll flip to the section about birds if you want me to, little master."  
  
'Yes, please do!' the little bird chirped happily. 'And tell me what they say!'  
  
She drew the book back into her lap and flipped through the places. She found the section on animals, and flipped to the subsection on birds. She turned it to the opening page and found the familiar picture of an owl staring curiously at her.  
  
"Come here and look, sir," she said, offering her hand to it.  
  
It hopped on her head, and she put it on the left page of her book, right under the owl picture.  
  
'My, my, he looks silly, doesn't he?' it said, laughing.  
  
"Yes, he does, kind sir. May I ask what you are called?"  
  
The little bird looked up at her. 'Luspid,' he said. 'What are you called?'  
  
"Pixie, little master."  
  
The bird nodded and turned around to look at the picture again. 'What does it say about birds?'  
  
"Birds, the colorful stars that fly in the sky by day and sleep at night, come in many different colors and sizes, but most of them have the same qualities. All birds have hollow bones and feathers…," she said, reading a part of the passage.  
  
The bird began to laugh. 'Hollow bones? How intriguing! We do not have hollow bones! Our bones are just filled with flight air.'  
  
From past experiences with birds, she knew that flight air was helium, and when the bird died, the helium would dissipate from its bones, exiting through any orifice it could get to.  
  
"It is intriguing, little master." She nodded and held her hand down for the little bird; he hopped into it and watched as she turned the page. "Lots of birds have a diet consisting of berries and seeds, while others eat insects and sometimes even other birds."  
  
At this, Luspid cringed. 'Hawks,' he said immediately. 'Just the other day, there was this horribly rude hawk after my nest mate. It was terrible. Thank goodness that she escaped him. Our nestlings are due sometime next month.'  
  
"Congratulations, little Luspid. I hope you and your nest mate are very happy with your nestlings. How many are you expecting?"  
  
The blue jay opened his wings. 'Four, Pixie. Four beautiful nestlings.'  
  
"Four. Sounds like you and your nest mate will have your wings full for a while, correct, little Luspid?"  
  
He shook his head. 'No, this is our second nest. We know how to handle them, yes.'  
  
"Are ya' talking t' a bird?" a bored voice asked from across the courtyard.  
  
Pixie's head snapped up, and she spied a girl sitting across from her with a book in hand. The girl had a southern accent but a gentle voice.  
  
"Yes," Pix replied, shielding the tiny creature with her hand. "Don't worry, I won't squish you."  
  
The girl stood up and walked over to her, curiously looking at the bird she had under her hand. "Mah God. It's a real bird," she said, kneeling down in the grass.  
  
'Hello, human,' Luspid said, spreading his wings.  
  
"He said hello to you," Pix said, removing her hand.  
  
The girl looked down at it. "Well, uh, tell it Ah said hi t' it, too."  
  
Pix nodded and looked down at the blue jay. "Did you hear her?"  
  
He looked at her and chirped, "Yes, ask her what her name is."  
  
Pix looked up at the girl. "He wants to know what your name is."  
  
"Call meh tha' Rogue."  
  
He squeaked. 'That is her name? Odd name for a human…'  
  
"May I tell her your name, little master?" Pix said, stroking his back with her fingers.  
  
'Yes,' he said before purring, 'Feels good…'  
  
Pix smiled at the girl. "His name is Luspid, and my name is Pixie. Please to meet you, Rogue," she said, offering her hand.  
  
Rogue shook her hand hesitantly. "Can…can Ah hold 'im?"  
  
Luspid flapped his wings and landed on Rogue's shoulder. She rubbed his chest, and he chirped some more.  
  
"He says he likes that."  
  
"Ya' really can talk t' animals?"  
  
Pix nodded and closed her Biology book. "Hey, uh, do you have an extra book with you that you could loan to me? I haven't been to a library, and I'm already set acing Biology anyways."  
  
Rogue smiled. "Ah course Ah do," she said, reaching into her bag. She took out another book and handed it to Pix. "Lost Essence," Rogue said, quoting the title. "One o' mah favorites."  
  
Pix turned it over and read the back. "It sounds like a really awesome book. Thanks!"  
  
Rogue sat down next to her, making sure the bird on her shoulder wasn't about to fall off. She watched Pix put her Biology book in her bag.  
  
"Ah got Biology. What class ya' have?"  
  
"First," she answered. "What class do you have?"  
  
"Third. Uh, why do ya' read y'r Bio book?"  
  
Pixie laughed. "Definitely not for the action. I just have nothing else to read, and I love books."  
  
'I must take my leave, ladies. I do wish we shall meet again,' Luspid said, flapping up to a tree branch.  
  
"Luspid says bye," Pix translated. "Bye, Luspid. I hope you, your nest mate, and nestlings have a nice day."  
  
"Bye!" Rogue said, not really believing that she was talking to a bird. "That was cool. Ah neva' had a bird land on mah shoulder before."  
  
"They are very proper creatures. Humans can't talk to them, and they talk to everything that moves. It insults them when humans don't speak back."  
  
"Are ya' a mutant?" Rogue asked. "Ya' talk lak ya' are."  
  
Pixie nodded her head. "Yes, foresight and a little extras to the side."  
  
Rogue smiled. "Good friend o' mine has that. I lak ya' hair."  
  
"Thanks. I think yours is very nice too."  
  
"Ah neva heard a' someone dying their hair pink. Ya must be very…uh…very…"  
  
"Different," Pix said. "Yeah, not many people has the guts to have pink hair. It's worse than being blonde," she said, laughing.  
  
Rogue nodded. "Well, back t' readin'."  
  
Pix opened the book that Rogue had loaned to her, and both of them began to read. It was quiet, except for the flowing song that the wind tossed around her ears. She listened contently to it, sometimes even closing her eyes and bobbing her head to the sound.  
  
"Yah have ears like someone Ah know," Rogue said after a few minutes. "His name's Kurt. Maybe Ah could introduce ya' t' him."  
  
Pix looked up from her book and nodded. "That would be good. Is he nice?"  
  
Rogue rolled her eyes. "Nice, yah, but sometimes, he gets a lil' too mischievous fo' his own good."  
  
Pix laughed. "Yeah, sometimes God deals us wildcards. I met one, but he wasn't mischievous. He was more like a saint."  
  
Rogue sighed. "Better a saint than Kurt. Wha' was he lak?"  
  
"He was a mutant, as well, but he was cursed, as he put it, with eternal life from that age of ten."  
  
Rogue rolled the idea around in her mind. "What's so bad 'bout that? Besides bein' ten."  
  
"He was ninety-six when he met me. He had seen so much, but then, a month before his one hundred second birthday, he had been killed in the middle of a shootout. He was a Godsend, a real angel."  
  
Rogue saw that a cloak of sadness fell across her face. "He was y'r friend? A good one?"  
  
Pix nodded. "He was an angel. That's all I can say. You're probably like him if he was still alive. He was such a gentleman and always knew what to say."  
  
"Sounds lak a keeper."  
  
"You have anyone like that?"  
  
"Well, no. Ah have friends, but not intimate."  
  
Pix smiled. "You have a boyfriend?"  
  
Rogue seemed confused and puzzled by her question. "Ya' and no."  
  
"Both?"  
  
"Ah have this guy…but he isn't really mah type."  
  
Pix grinned. "Opposites attract."  
  
Rogue shook her head. "It's not…that Ah don't lak him, it's just that Ah can't."  
  
"Oh. A forbidden passion. Well, I won't ask anymore, but I wish you and him the best of luck."  
  
Pix lifted the book again. "And thanks for the book."  
  
"Not a problem."  
  
They commenced reading, but Rogue seemed to fidget too much. At first, Pix didn't notice it, and then she did notice it and pretended not to. Finally, Rogue slammed her book shut.  
  
"Ah feel lak Ah've seen ya' somewhere before," she said, awaiting the answer. "Ah just can't seem t' shake it."  
  
Pic closed her eyes and, for a moment, was completely silent. She searched through her memories, the long chain the seemed to be never-ending. She had seen and known many children, almost too many to count, and sometimes it was hard to find the memory of a single one.  
  
"You have, Marie," she whispered.  
  
Rogue's eyes opened wide. "How…how do ya' know mah name?"  
  
Pix rubbed her head. "I have seen you before, when you were little. I remember you, as well."  
  
Rogue shook her head. "But…Ah'm seventeen. How can ya' remember something so long ago?"  
  
Pixie closed her eyes. "Seventeen years isn't a long time, Rogue. It may seem like it, but it really isn't. You'd be surprised how time flies."  
  
"Well, at least Ah got that off mah senses. Nice t' see ya' again, Pix."  
  
Nice to see you again. How was she supposed to say that she had known Marie since she was a baby? She hadn't realized that Rogue remembered her from the deepest part of her infant mind. It was very rare when someone could remember without seeing her as she truly was. It wasn't as if she showed her human form to babies, so a moment like this was spectacular.  
  
"You too."  
  
She was something else. Pix already knew that. It was too rare for her to let something like this slide.  
  
After a few minutes, students began to arrive. Some would go inside, while others would sit outside and do homework that they neglected the previous night. The song of God faded as the students came and created noise. It wasn't sound, song, or beauty; it was noise, plain and simple. Pixie didn't like it at all, but she wasn't one to complain.  
  
She saw Kitty, the sunglasses dude, and Jean arrive in a shiny car. They piled out, and Kitty walked over to Rogue.  
  
"Hey, I see you two met!" she said.  
  
"Yah, just helpin' a fellow bookworm," Rogue groaned, her nose still buried in her book.  
  
Pixie closed her book and offered her hand to Kitty. Kitty shook it happily.  
  
"It's nice to see you again. Did your first day go okay?" she asked, clutching her books to her chest.  
  
Pixie nodded. "Yes, it went very well, thank you."  
  
The before school bell rang, but the courtyard was so loud that most didn't hear it. Rogue stood up, keeping a finger in her book to keep her place.  
  
"Ah must be goin'. See ya' later, Kitty."  
  
"Bye, Rogue!"  
  
Kitty turned towards her and sighed. "Well, I have to go, too. I have to go see a teacher. I'll talk to you in Trig, okay?"  
  
With that, Kitty ran off, blending in with the crowd. Pixie felt the familiar feeling of being alone in the middle of a crowd. The feeling didn't last however, since she heard a familiar voice at the edge of the courtyard.  
  
It was Todd, and, from the looks of it, he had gotten himself into a brawl with three senior boys. Three! Of all things, this was the most inhuman! Three against one. How barbaric. It was this kind of stuff that brought out the beast within, and it really pissed her off.  
  
She slid her book into her pack and left it next to the tree. She opened her eye and knew immediately that she would get into a fight and be put in detention, but that was for later, not now.  
  
She arrived at the fighting site just when the leader of the three thugs picked Todd off the ground by his collar and threw him against the ground. Pix put on her sweetest face and walked up to him, tapping him on the shoulder lightly.  
  
"WHAT?" he screeched before turning to see her pretty face. "Well, hello there. I forgot how many weirdoes we had at this school. I mean, geez, chick. You must be desperate for attention or something to dye your hair pink." The other two chuckled and resumed marching up to Todd, who was still trying to stand up. "Well, baby, I have business to attend to, so if you want a date, you have to take a number."  
  
He turned around and punched Todd in the face while the other two held him. Pix walked towards him again, and slid around him just in time to collect his next punch in the palm of her hand. He drew it back and stared her hard in the eyes. She walked forward and shoved him backwards to put some space between them.  
  
"You…DO NOT…insult the hair color!" she growled.  
  
She walked up to him and stood barely three inches from his face. "Look, I can understand that you want justice and all for the little guy, but we have a score to settle with him, and I don't want to have to hit a girl."  
  
She grinned. "Try and hit me. You hit me, I'll do your homework for the rest of the year, and I'll help you beat up on anyone you want."  
  
"Look, babe. As considerate as that offer is, I really am not interested in fighting you. It would ruin my reputation."  
  
By this time, his face was a mixture of irritation and gentleness. She cracked her knuckles as she balled her hand into a fist. As fast as lightning, she slammed her hand into his cheek, sending him spiraling off to the side. The sickening crunch attracted the attention of onlookers, and in no time, they had formed a circle around them.  
  
"That'll ruin your reputation." While the football player was gathering himself from the ground, she turned to the other two. "Let him go."  
  
One of them released Todd's arm, but the other one just grabbed it. That one stepped forward. This one was larger than the first guy she had punched, but she knew he wasn't that much smarter. She rolled her eyes.  
  
"Why do you want the hard way out?"  
  
He just grinned. "If I hit you, do I get what he would have got, after you get out of the hospital, that is."  
  
She nodded and bowed. "Of course, and to even the odds, I won't use my hands."  
  
Pix tucked her hands into her coat sleeves and held them behind her back. The big lug lunged at her, and she jumped to the side a mile before he was even close. He turned around, but she jumped into the air and landed on his shoulders before jumping behind him and kicking him squarely in the back. He toppled over, and she kicked him in the side. He stood up again and grabbed at her, but she bounced out of the way, just a few inches beyond his grasp.  
  
"This the best you can do? Looks like my offer isn't yours for the taking."  
  
She really didn't like fighting that much, but it had been a while since she had felt an adrenaline rush, so she was purely enjoying the little scramble between her and the big lug. He had lasted much longer than the first boy, but, eventually, the first boy joined in again. Just for the sake of fun, she let the first boy take a hold of her.  
  
"You little wretch! You'll pay for that."  
  
She laughed. "I thought you didn't want to hit a girl."  
  
He nodded, then an evil grin appeared over his face. "Nope, that's why I'm going to hold you, and he's going to beat you to Hell."  
  
She smiled. "That's what I'm talking about…"  
  
This was going to be funny. She raised her head just in front of his and watched the other boy draw his fist back. One would think that they would learn what she was setting up by television, but they had no clue. At the last possible second, she moved her head down and chuckled as the boy was knocked off his feet.  
  
She looked up at the other boy and smiled. "Genius, wasn't it. Well, do you still want that offer or do you give?"  
  
His face was distorted into that of frustration and anger. She stood there, legs slightly apart and hands still behind her back. Pix bowed and stood again, a calm flowing over her face.  
  
"You bitch!"  
  
There was a pressure point in his shoulder that she could just wedge the tip of her boot against. When he tackled her again, she jumped clearly above his head, and jammed her foot into the small space between his bones. The numbness took over almost immediately, and the boy slumped aside with his tongue hanging out of his mouth and his eyes shaking.  
  
The third boy was already gone by time she glanced in his direction, leaving Todd on the ground with a black eye and some bruises on his face. She turned to the crowd.  
  
"You saw nothing. LEAVE!" she hissed.  
  
Immediately, everyone began to resume what they had been doing before the fight happened. She knelt down to Todd and rubbed his head.  
  
"What happened? What happened to your toad powers?" she cooed softly.  
  
He shrugged. "They bounced me. I don't know…ouch…" She helped him up and held him by the waist while he had one arm slung over her shoulder. "I think I broke something…"  
  
"Not surprising," she said, making her presence noticeable, causing the crowd to immediately move aside.  
  
She drug him through the school's double doors and into the school.  
  
"When I get out of the hospital, tell me how you…pulled those moves off…"  
  
She smiled. "No problem. I'll even teach you some."  
  
"Ow. Wish they could have come before this…"  
  
"Me too…"  
  
:) Thanks for the second review, Kitty! You're a Godsend! 


	4. Detention

Treble Clef  
  
By Silver Falcon  
  
Chapter Four  
  
"Detention?!?!" Marcie squeaked. "Second day and you got detention?!"  
  
Pixie raised her hands. "Yeah, yeah, I know. It's pathetic, but I was standing up for one of my smaller friends."  
  
Marcie rubbed her hand. "Still. Darlin', don't you think you could have solved it another way? I mean, look who you have to serve it with!"  
  
She pointed at the name on the piece of paper.  
  
"Ms. Dubbles?"   
  
Marcie cringed and sank to the floor. "She was still teaching when I was in school. No one liked her! No one can like her! She's the wife of Satan!"  
  
It was distantly amusing to see a grown woman act in this manner, but it was still shocking.  
  
"Surely this woman isn't that bad," Pixie said, putting her hands on her hips.  
  
Marcie stood up and shook her head. "She's horrible. Just wait. You'll never want to go to detention again."  
  
Pixie nodded. "Well, I thank you for your concern. Can I go to my homework?"  
  
Marcie sighed. "Yes, so I guess I won't be expecting you home at five tomorrow?"  
  
Pixie shook her head. "But I'll be home as fast as I can. Plus, the boys said they were going to take me out for pizza."  
  
"Pizza? I know I'm not your mother, but that's a little lenient. What about being grounded?"  
  
Pixie shrugged. "You're the guardian, and I'm not going to argue. If you want to ground me, fine, but allow me a trip to the library so I won't die of boredom."  
  
"But that's what you're supposed to do when you're grounded."  
  
Pixie nodded. "Oh, right. Well, I'll see you at dinner, okay? I'm gonna do my homework now."  
  
With that, Pixie opened the door to her room and walked in. Her room wasn't very big, but it had its own bathroom and a closet just for her. It was rather plain looking since she hadn't been there that long. To her right was her bed, to her left, a small dresser and chair. The bathroom wasn't that large, either. It had a shower, toilet, mirror, and sink. It too was really plain, but this was her home for now.  
  
She sat down on her bed and pulled out her notebook. Pix didn't bother bringing her Biology book since she practically memorized it anyway. She took out her pen and wrote down the twenty questions and answers on page 411. It wasn't hard, just something on osmosis and water.  
  
It was boring as crap. After Biology, she did Trig, and, after that, social studies, and literature.  
  
Finally, she retired to the book that she had been loaned by Rogue. During the day, she had read the first three chapters, and she was eager to finish it. She really wanted to go to the library, but she had a feeling that she would be in trouble with Marcie.  
  
She had forgotten what it felt like to have a mother. Marcie was a good mother, but she didn't have any kids of her own. Pixie knew that Marcie wanted kids, though. The maternal instinct was as clear as a bell in her eyes. Poor Marcie. She would be a good mom, but she needed to practice a little first. That's what Pixus was there for.  
  
The pain came from her forgetfulness of her mother. She remembered a very faint trace of her father, and almost nothing of her mother. It was too long ago. How was it that she could remember every child that she had ever come in contact with, but she couldn't remember her own mother?  
  
It…hurt.  
  
More than anything that a human could imagine.   
  
Cautiously, she poked her head in detention. She had been surprised that hardly anyone spoke to her that day. Pietro must have been skipping, Toad was in the hospital with two broken ribs, bruised ribs, bruised bones, and bruised everything.  
  
Jean and Kitty had been too afraid to speak to her, and she didn't see Rogue at all.  
  
"Well, well, well. Here's my next victim. You're the hot shot who beat up the football stars, huh. SIT DOWN!"  
  
The woman who was yelling was a very thin lady with black hair and green eyes. She looked like she was in her late thirties.  
  
Grinning, she bowed and took a seat in the nearest chair. The teens close to her immediately rose and moved to the other side of the room.  
  
"GET BACK TO THOSE SEATS!"  
  
The kids feared Ms. Dubbles more than they feared her, so they obeyed without any words. She had known worse. This woman was just troubled.  
  
"PINKY, TAKE OFF THE BANDANA!"  
  
Pixie shook her head. "Ms. Dubbles, I don't think you want me to. I might scare people."  
  
"I DON'T CARE ABOUT YOUR BAD HAIR DAYS! TAKE IT OFF!!"  
  
Pix sighed and reached behind her, untying it. She let her fingers grasp it and draw it away from her face. Since her eye was closed, it appeared that she had a tattoo on her forehead consisting of four triangles. If she opened her eye, there would be two on each eyelid. The quarter sized hill on her forehead protruded ever so slightly, but it was there. She just had to pray that her eye didn't open on its own.  
  
"Now," began the teacher, calming her voice to a normal roar, "we shall begin to copy words out of the dictionary. Take out paper and pencil and begin to copy NOW! I expect B's to be completed before you leave at five. YOU HAVE ONE HOUR!"  
  
Pix reached under her desk and drew the thick book out. She put it on her desk and wrote. Thirty minutes went by, and she found herself at the last word. Fancy that. She had developed into a quick writer over the years.  
  
She sat patiently at her desk, watching the teacher check the day's victims. Suddenly, she looked up, and her eyes fell upon Pixie's.  
  
"I'm done, ma'am," Pix said before Ms. Dubbles could bark anything.  
  
It had taken most of her notebook, but there it was, in neat writing, the first A word to the last B word.  
  
"What!? How could you be done?!"  
  
"Permission to approach the bench, your honor?"  
  
The woman looked stunned, but she nodded. Pix stood up with the stack of papers in hand and walked towards the desk. She placed the stack at the corner of her desk and bowed her head in silence.  
  
"Sit down! And I better not hear a peep from you for the rest of your time!"  
  
"Yes, ma'am."  
  
Pixie returned to her seat and stared at the top of her desk. After a while, she began to process thoughts that she had locked away in her mind. Would it be safer if she tried to live a human life?  
  
Would they find her?  
  
"TIME'S UP! GET OUT OF MY SIGHT, YOU FILTHY PIGS!"  
  
They cleared out of the room faster than lightning, but she remained.  
  
"WHY ARE YOU STILL IN HERE!?"  
  
"Congratulations," she said, smiling.  
  
The teacher stared at her. "What?!"  
  
"You are getting married in a month, aren't you? Congratulations."  
  
The teacher fell into her seat and looked at the blue eyes of the student in front of her. "How did you know that?"  
  
Pixie boldly opened her third eye. "Because I can see the future."  
  
The woman shrieked and covered her eyes.  
  
"Lady, don't worry. I'm not going to hurt you," Pix said, raising her hands.  
  
The woman was still scared stupid. "You…you're a…mu…mu…"  
  
"Mutant. Lady, I'm not going to hurt you. I swear." She moved to the back of the room and closed her eye. "See? It's gone."  
  
"You…"  
  
"I'm a mutant that won't hurt you. I wish you a happy marriage to what's his name?"  
  
The woman rubbed her eyes as Pixie put the bandana back on. "Michael."  
  
"Michael. And I told you that you didn't want me to take it off. But lady, I only use it for good."  
  
"Good? You beat up two boys. I hardly call that good."  
  
"Well, they were picking on a friend of mine that couldn't defend himself at the moment."  
  
"Well, still. Please leave. I have work to do."  
  
Pix walked up to her and offered her hand. "Truce?"  
  
The woman shook her hand. "Well, no."  
  
Pixie shrugged. "Okay, your loss. Bye."  
  
"Wait. Have I seen you before?"  
  
Pixie smiled and nodded. "In your dreams, perhaps."  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
"Well, that's where you see the unbelievable, right?" Pixie said, her arms dropping limp to her sides.  
  
"Wha…?"  
  
"Future Mrs. Nelly, have a nice day. I'm afraid I have to leave now."  
  
She picked up her bag and walked out the door, closing it behind her.  
  
So far, she had eluded capture, but she wasn't sure how long that would last. She hadn't played her flute in a long time, and it was beginning to edge at her senses. Alas, she knew that if she did, it would put Marcie, Jack, and all her new friends in the greatest danger known to mortal kind. Pix felt the urge to be free again, but she knew that if she did and was found out, the news would spread faster than a plain fire. They would be on her in a second, ready to deal death and torture. She began to have headaches almost constantly, a signal from her extra eye that she was in danger, but if she made a run for it, they would use the people here against her.  
  
Damn!  
  
Why did she have to get attached to Marcie and Jack so quickly?! Why hadn't she politely turned down their offer to live with them in their underground home beneath the club? Why didn't she find some way to repulse Pietro and Todd into leaving her alone? She knew that, somehow, they would find out who they were, and she would be in a hostage situation: her life for his or hers. It had been a few decades since she had done this, and she was regretting it every second that went past. She was beginning to put more people in danger than she cared for, and she had a nagging suspicion that they would find a way to hit her in the worst way possible: putting the humans to death.  
  
The Mutants and Humans didn't realize that they were still the same race, but they were too blind to see that the war they were fighting wasn't the war they should be. She had known the war between her mother's kind and her father's kind had lasted since long before her father was born, and it even went on today. Her father had been put to death because of his betrayal, and she had reluctantly been allowed to live in the Realm for most of her life, but since the abductions of the humans, she had been forced to live a life of hidden secrets and a forgotten past.  
  
Her mother was long dead, and she couldn't remember anything about her except that she, too, was a mutant of the human kind. Pixie's love for music was inherited by her father, since all who live in the Realm had a keen ear for any tune that was playing. He had left her one thing: the mystical instrument that she still carried with her to this very day. Although the instrument was very old, she knew that it would stay in tact until the day that she would perish and beyond, finding itself a new owner to take care of it.  
  
Where was she from? Honestly, truly, she knew exactly where she was from, but she had refused to answer Todd's question the other day anyway. What would his reaction have been if she told him she was born in a swamp? She had been born in a log cabin in the center of a damp, foggy swamp, but her father had made it a paradise afterwards. She knew exactly where the small paradise was in Georgia, a good bit south of the northern border, but it had been a century since she had last visited it. She had never enjoyed her life past twenty, because it was then that she realized what she was and why she wasn't aging.  
  
She watched her mother die. She had lied to Pietro about not knowing her parents, but if one really looked at it from her point of view, she didn't. They had fooled the world with their love. They had fooled both worlds with their love, so what was a daughter? Her mother had never told her what she was until she was nineteen. She watched her friends grow old and have children before dying off themselves. She watched as everything around her renewed itself after death with rebirth, but because of this rebirth, she lost her mind and became a wanderer, traveling around the states on foot and in air. She hated her life. She hated her parents. She hated everything until she met Jerry.  
  
He was the first that she knew to understand, and, even though he looked like a child, he bordered on a century. He told her that she would have wasted her entire life and being if she did not do something with it. He changed her, and he believed in her. He believed what she told him she was. He believed everything.  
  
Then, he was taken, for the town that he lived in was known for gunfights and murders. She took his remains and sealed them in stone, and she took the stone angel to her birthplace and to his resting place. The first one that she had known and that had known her pain was gone.  
  
For the past hundred years, she had been doing that. Because she was not required to eat or drink, she gave nearly every cent she made to a stranger walking on the street. Sometimes it would be a homeless person, maybe a single mother with three children, maybe a little girl who wanted to buy something for her brother for his birthday. She had helped people make people happy. She did what she knew how.  
  
But after she had been banished, everything made her paranoid for a while, and the arrival of the assassins didn't make things much easier. She eluded them for a while, but they always seemed to find her. The last time they found her, she had barely escaped with her hair. Jinn and his stupid swords.  
  
He wasn't her problem, not really. Forez was the problem. He had a growing, passionate hate growing inside of him, and she knew that it would satisfy him greatly if it was his hand that shed her blood. The fire-breather would be the first to find her. He had the sharp senses of the three, but it was most likely Orbisus who would take it from there. He had always loved toying with her, playing with her, messing with her mind.  
  
The High One had placed a very heavy bounty over her head, and that's what first attracted the trio. Yet, they had been unable to kill her, even after fifty years of trying. She was growing tired of running though. Sometimes she even wondered if she should just give herself up to them, but she knew that wasn't an option anymore.  
  
Jerry would want her to live, and she knew that he would want to see her again in her swamp. Although dead, Jerry's statue was alive. She never understood how, but it would sometimes talk to her.  
  
She missed him.  
  
Pietro nearly ran her over when she walked out of the double doors. She wheeled over and almost fell, but he was right behind her and caught her safely in his arms. Sure, she could see the future sometimes but only when her eye was open. She kept it closed most of the time.  
  
"Hello there, stranger," she said, looking up at him.  
  
"Who are you calling a stranger?" He asked, grinning impishly. He righted her and patted her on her shoulder. "I heard you got in a fight yesterday."  
  
"By who?"  
  
"Well, Freddy told me that Toady was in the hospital for a few hours. He is now at home in bed because of those three pricks. He said you saved Toad's nasty hide."  
  
Pixie nodded. "They won't be bothering him for a while. That's for sure."  
  
"I don't understand how you can be so vicious. I mean, sure, I like my women with a little feistiness, but beating people up over the Toad?"  
  
Pix nodded, and her face grew stern. "He was the first one to talk to me. I owed him that at least."  
  
Pietro nodded as well. "Yeah, I guess so. Come with me. I'll take you to see him if you want. He would probably want to see you anyway."  
  
Pietro rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. She took her bag off her shoulder and moved it to the other, rubbing her head.  
  
"He's a cool, little guy, even though he smells bad."  
  
Pietro shrugged. "You want to come to our little hole in the ground?"  
  
Pixie nodded. "I guess. Is it far?"  
  
Pietro shook his head and grabbed her hand. "A little, but I'll take you home again like last time, if you wish."  
  
He lifted her off the ground and swung her around. Pixie was surprised that he didn't notice anything different, but he was too love struck to realize anything.  
  
"Sure. Onward, Pietro!"  
  
He grinned at her again, and in a few seconds, she found herself at an old house. Pietro put her down while she admired the house. There were nice little bushes beside the house, and she could see that it was multistoried.   
  
Pixie thought the house was very familiar. She remembered that Jerry used to live in a house that was like that, but it was an old Victorian house. Pixie remembered seeing houses like that all the time in some areas. She loved Victorian houses.  
  
Pietro grabbed her hand and led her to the door. He winked at her and turned the doorknob, sweeping his hand inside. She went inside hesitantly, and he followed, closing the door.  
  
"It's big," Pix said, still taking in the view.  
  
"Yeah, I live here with my sister, Toad, Blob, and Lance."  
  
"Who is that?" Wanda hissed from the corner.  
  
Pixie turned around and looked at the black-haired girl in the corner. Wanda's eyes opened wide as Pixie's eyes locked with hers. Pietro felt a shiver run up his spine as he saw the way the two girls were staring at each other.  
  
"W…W…W…Wanda?!" 


	5. Looking in the Face of Death

Treble Clef  
  
By Silver Falcon  
  
Chapter Five  
  
"Wanda, let her go!" Pietro yelled, standing in front of Pixie.  
  
"Move, Pietro. I'm not going to hurt her," Wanda growled.  
  
Wanda looked at her brother with such understanding and calm that it almost scared him. She had never looked at anyone like that before. Wanda walked past him and up to Pixie who was still pinned against the wall.  
  
"You remember me?" the Scarlet Witch asked, putting her hand on Pixie's ear.  
  
"Yes, I remember you. You're the one that worried me the most, out of all the children," Pix replied in a hushed whisper. "I came to see how Todd is doing."  
  
Wanda let her down. "Does he know?" She growled, tilting her head towards Pietro.  
  
Pixie shook her head. "None of them do, and I'd like to keep it that way for reasons that are beyond your comprehension." She paused. "At least for now, anyways. Please, Wanda. You aren't supposed to know. It's too early for them to understand, and I know they wouldn't."  
  
"Understand what?" Pietro asked from the sidelines, but his cry was ignored.  
  
"You can trust me," Wanda said, the serious look in her eyes.  
  
Pixie nodded. "I know. Now, please show me where Todd is."  
  
Wanda's expression made it clear that she didn't want to, but, for some untold reason, she nodded and led Pix up the stairs. Pietro followed, confused as ever about how his sister knew the girl that he was stalking. Wanda showed her the closed door and stood next to it.  
  
"If you gag when you go in there, don't feel bad. It happens to all of us," she said in a low tone.  
  
Pix nodded and opened the door, closing it quickly behind her. Pietro looked at Wanda with his stupefied look, but her fact twisted into a frown.  
  
"What are you looking at?" she hissed.  
  
He was startled by her sudden change of mood. "Um, sorry, sis."  
  
Wanda growled at him and turned to go into her room at the end of the hall, slamming the door behind her and locking it. Pietro leaned against the wall and snorted.  
  
It was dark inside Todd's room, and it smelled misty and damp, but it fazed her not at all, since she had grown to love smells like this. As her eyes adjusted to the light, she could make out his bed, a neatly made on the other side of the room. He had a homemade hammock across from his bed, and she could tell that someone had made the bed for him when he came back from the hospital. He was under the slightly disturbed blankets, and he was facing away from her. The blankets were gathered around his shoulders, and she could see that he wasn't wearing a shirt. She quietly sauntered over to the other side of the bed and looked at him.  
  
His eyes were open, and he looked up at her and smiled pathetically. "Hey yo."  
  
She sat down next to his body and smiled softly. "You doing okay?"  
  
His smiled faded. "No. Doctor said I…" He stopped and grimaced, inhaling sharply. "He said I gots a few busted ribs. My jaw is…," he paused again, "fractured, and my arm is bruised bad."  
  
Pixie frowned sadly and nuzzled his cheek. "You poor thing."  
  
Just looking at him hurt her. She knew she could take away his pain at that very moment, but if she did, she would endanger everyone in Bayville. Pix reached down and hugged him softly.  
  
"I'm sorry," she whispered. "If I had acted when I first heard you cry out, this wouldn't have happened. I'm so sorry…"  
  
He did his best to shake his head. "Ain't your fault."  
  
"I wish I could help you now," she whispered. "I don't like to see people in pain."  
  
"I'll be okay. Doctor said lots of water and bed rest, so no school…for a while."  
  
Toad smiled again, and it made Pix want to cry.  
  
"I'm sorry that you had to get hurt like this."  
  
"You did what you could. No one else…tried to help."  
  
She pressed her cheek against his forehead. "I'm so sorry."  
  
"Stop apologizin'. It ain't your fault."  
  
His weak whispers were beginning to get to her. It jabbed her deep in her heart, and, even without her eye, she could tell that she was going to do something she regretted, but would she really put her life on the line just for him? Todd was her friend, more of a friend than anyone else in her mind was. Pietro was slowly getting there, but he had not been the first that spoke to her. He had, and there was something about his boldness that stirred her.  
  
She had to heal him.  
  
"You'll be okay. I'll make sure of it," she whispered into his ear. "Just give me one night, okay?"  
  
"Um, okay…"  
  
She gave him a small peck of a kiss on the cheek and rose, leaving his side and room.  
  
Pietro was the first thing that she saw outside of Todd's room. He made no attempt to flirt when he saw the look on her face.  
  
"Pix?" he asked, his voice slow, sad, and curious.  
  
Pixie held back her tears and sobbed, leaning against the door. She held her face in her hands and slid down the door.  
  
"I have to leave…"  
  
Pietro gently grabbed her by her shoulders and lifted her up. "But you just got here…"  
  
Pix looked at him and hugged his neck, and then she grabbed his chin softly in her hand and made him look her directly in her eyes.  
  
"I have to go. I'll talk to you whenever I can."  
  
She released his body and with a flip of her coat, disappeared down the stairs. Pietro ran after her, but she was gone. He could see her frame outside, moving unbelievably fast across the lawn.  
  
Pixie knew that what she was doing would be against everything that she understood. She saw suffering in that poor boy's eyes, and that was against what she worked for. No more.  
  
It had been a while since she had gone this speed. She felt that the cloak of night would protect her, but she wasn't sure how long it would be before she would be found out now. When she had made it to the city, it occurred to her that Pietro was following her.  
  
In a lame attempt to lose him, she climbed up the side of a building and hid behind the railing. She watched the blur pass, and then stood up, looking in the direction of the old house. Pixie felt her entire body tremble with the untold fear that raged through her now. She slid her hand into her pocket and lifted out the blue flute.   
  
Bringing it to her lips was hard, since she was shaking so badly. The tremors threatened to throw the flute to the ground every time she was about to play, but eventually, she got hold of herself.  
  
She raised the mouthpiece to her lips and felt her body become as hard as a rock. With her eyes focused sharply on the horizon, she put her fingers over the holes and played.  
  
The sky began to turn white. It started with the area right above her, but then it stretched across the sky like nothing at all. The bright light lit the earth below it, and the area immediately around her began to glow with a yellow light that spiraled into the sky. She watched the horizon carefully and saw the bright green thunder strike the earth.  
  
***  
  
Todd opened his eyes immediately. The blankets were thrown off him, and he felt himself being lifted into the air clad in only his shorts. The green light flooded the room, and a sensation overcame his senses. It felt like he was drowning. His mouth was forced open by something and he felt a liquid invade his throat. His eyes were shut tight, and his body was paralyzed with fear.  
  
He couldn't breathe, but he didn't have the strength to choke. He felt his skin began to burn pleasantly, the heat making his mind swim and his muscles relax. An image flooded his mind, the very person trying to heal him.  
  
The force left his body, and he felt his back touch the bed again. He sat up, coughing. Todd opened his eyes and looked around his room, but the light had faded.  
  
"WHAT THE HELL?!"  
  
***  
  
Pixie lowered the instrument, her song complete. The sky turned black, and the half moon shone brightly.  
  
"Pixie?! What the hell just happened?" a voice behind her said.  
  
Pix turned around in horror to see Pietro walking toward her. She grabbed her ears and squeaked.  
  
"Pietro, no! Get outta here! NOW!" she screamed, throwing her arms in the air. "Get out of here!!"  
  
He grabbed her shoulders, but she threw his arms off. "What is your problem!?"  
  
She saw them land behind him. She grabbed him by his arm and tried to throw him off the building, but a stronger hand grabbed him and yanked him away from her. She fell to her knees in a pathetic bow.  
  
"Pixus, it's been a while. Who's this pathetic creature?"  
  
Pietro had no clue who he was about to yell at. "Who are you calling pathetic, you shithead?"  
  
Pietro found himself lifted off the ground and twirled around to look into bright yellow eyes at the end of a long snout. The green-scaled alligator had a head of bright red hair, and wore armor that he had never seen before. The monster stood upright on two legs like a man and had a body like a man. Pietro felt his body stiffen, his eyes wide and gaping. One of the others walked past him, and he heard Pixie squeal.  
  
"Leave her alone, bastard!" he hissed.  
  
"Let him go, Oribisus. Please, let him go. I'll go with you, just please…"  
  
Her pathetic pleas seemed to pass in one ear and out the other. Pix looked up at the white haired man with his long clear wings flashing behind him. His piercing green eyes stung her mind, causing her to whimper out loud. He had a pale complexion, and his cat eyes seemed to make his white skin glow.  
  
He grabbed the back of her neck and pulled her to her feet, his sharp nails digging into her skin.  
  
"Jinn, restrain the boy," Oribisus said calmly.  
  
There was a sshhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhink as a sword was being drawn. The four-armed creature walked toward him and grabbed both his arms from behind and turned to face his comrades. Pietro turned his head to look at his face, which was extremely calm and ignoring him. He had dark brown skin and dark blue hair and eyes.  
  
"Pixie, who are these people?" Pietro said on a borderline whimper.  
  
Pixie could only glance at him helplessly before turning her gaze to the white-haired Oribisus.  
  
"Let him go, and I won't put up a fight. Please. I swear I won't!"  
  
Oribisus slapped her across her face with the back of his hand, staring daggers at Pietro. "Forez," he said, referring to the lizard creature. "Get her. Jinn, leave the boy. We have what we want."  
  
Pixie bowed her head as she felt Forez's scaly hands take her prisoner. She stared at Pietro with tears streaming down her face, looking at the fear and shock in his eyes.  
  
"Leave her alone," he said, almost choking on his words.  
  
Oribisus looked at him and grinned, realizing the small chain that she had. "On second though, rough him up a little bit, then come, Jinn. We'll meet you later."  
  
"No, please leave him alone, Jinn!"  
  
Pixie felt Forez vibrate as he growled at her, "Quiet, half breed. You're ours now."  
  
Pietro heard Jinn chuckle behind him. Pixie shook her head furiously and fought against the dragon's grip.  
  
"Leave him alone, Oribisus!!" Pixie shrieked.  
  
"Let's go. Meet you in a while, Jinn. Don't kill him."  
  
"No! Please!!" Pixie whimpered before the man with clear wings and the dragon took off into the air.  
  
The other man threw him on the rooftop and drew the three other swords that he had. Pietro rubbed his head and dashed away at high speed, leaving the mutant monster on the rooftop baffled at the sudden disappearance.  
  
In an instant more, Jinn felt a foot slam into his back. Pietro zoomed around him, throwing punches at the man. The man toppled over and held his swords ready.  
  
"You don't know who you're messing with, boy!" he hissed, glaring at Pietro's now unmoving form.  
  
"Why do you want her?" Pietro demanded.  
  
"She is none of your concern, mortal," the swordsman said, shaking his head in an unfortunate way.  
  
The monster jumped into the air and sneered at him, returning his swords to their sheathes that were tied to his back. He waved with two of his hands and flew skyward, disappearing in the clouds.  
  
Forez grabbed her head and pulled it back to rest on his shoulder. He shoved something in her mouth that she almost immediately swallowed. He smacked her, knocking her head back up. The air was beginning to get colder the higher they went up, and she could tell that they were a few miles above the city.  
  
"What the heck was that!?" she spat gagging on the horribly tasting bean.  
  
"Nothing you need to worry about. It's just a dragon egg that'll burst from your corpse in a few weeks," he answered with a dark laugh.  
  
Oribisus seemed irritated. "Stop here."  
  
"What's wrong?"  
  
"Nothing. I just want to kill her here," he said in a suave voice. "We'll wait for Jinn."  
  
Pixie twisted against Forez's grip, finally freeing herself. "I ain't waitin' for nothing!"  
  
She began to fall, knowing that they would pursue her. Pix prayed that she wouldn't run into Jinn, but as she opened her eye, she knew that she would. What luck.  
  
She felt the sting of the wind on her cold body, and, for once, she was glad that she was wearing her coat. Pix felt Forez closing in on her. Oribisus would remain in the clouds, waiting for his two pawns to capture her and return her.  
  
Forez grabbed her by her ankle and jerked her up, roaring in anger. "You're not getting away this time! Twenty years and I'm not losing you again!"  
  
About this time, she could sense that Jinn had seen them from a distance. Forez opened his maw, and in horror, Pixie could see the orange glow appear in his throat and realized that she was about to become medium to well done. He swung her by her ankle into the air, keeping hold of her foot. He cracked her like a whip, sending her body right into his oncoming fire stream. She felt the flame engulf her right side, catching her hair and clothes ablaze. She screamed like a banshee, thrashing about in the air as she felt her skin being torn off by the burning fingers.  
  
In her frantic thrashing, she kicked Forez in his head, right between his eyes, causing him to release her and growl in pain, bringing him up to rub his eyes. Too bad that Jinn was directly below them, and he had two of his swords out. He held his free hands out to catch her, but he misjudged her landing point and she slammed into his upper arms, impaling herself on his swords with one through her right thigh and the other straight through the bone of her right arm. The screaming stopped, but her eyes had dilated so much that there was hardly any blue left.  
  
Pix knocked Jinn off of his flight pattern, making them both fly to the side. Catching himself, the four-armed swordsman flew to the left., letting her slip off and fall towards the ground. Forez flew down to him and roared, raising his hand to strike him.  
  
"You fool! You let her escape!" he hissed, smacking him on the back of his head, sending the blue braid flying.  
  
Jinn punched him hard on his face then pointed at the ground.  
  
"That coat is preventing her from flying. She'll hit the ground full force, and it'll kill her. It will definitely kill her." Jinn nodded while Forez grinned a smirk that would scare the dress off Medusa. "She will not survive. There's no way she can."  
  
***  
  
Pix was losing her mind. Her arm was thrown, and she couldn't take her coat off with one arm, even though half of it was gone. She figured that even if she did get it off, she wouldn't have enough energy to fly.  
  
With vacant eyes, she was watching the clouds go by faster and faster. Her beautiful pink hair had been burned away from her now blistered scalp. She felt the fire dance over her arms, legs, sides, and back, burning away what clothing she had left.  
  
She wasn't going to be able to survive the crash. She felt so many regrets fly through her mind.  
  
She had failed Jerry, her guardian angel and closest friend.  
  
She had always wanted to live her life with someone, but she had lost the only chance that she had at a boyfriend.  
  
She wished she could explain to Marcie that she felt like a mother to her, even though they hadn't been together that long.  
  
She wished she had time to talk more with Wanda and Rogue.  
  
And Todd.  
  
She wanted to get to know Pietro.  
  
She wanted to kill the three pricks that were after her.  
  
Pixie had always believed in God, but since she was about to croak, she felt his presence around her even more.  
  
She had wanted to grow up and have a family. Ever since she was young, she had wanted to have a family. She wanted three kids, two boys and a girl, but since she had never aged, she would always appear under aged for everything.  
  
Well, she wouldn't make it to her next year. Not tonight. Not ever.  
  
She couldn't even mutter the words 'I'm sorry' to the world around her.  
  
There was just…nothing left.  
  
Nothing... 


	6. Burning the Flesh and Singing the Soul

Treble Clef  
  
By Silver Falcon  
  
Chapter Six  
  
Todd rushed down the stairs, still clad in only his camouflage shorts. He hopped high into the air and landed on Fred, who was just about to bring him a glass of water and a ham sandwich. He dropped the glass and plate and caught Todd's semi-flying body before the small freshman could leap over him.  
  
"What are you doing?! You're supposed to be injured?!" Fred said, holding Toad in front of him.  
  
Todd waved his arms around madly. "Exactly! I'm not hurt anymore! Look! My black eye's gone and everything!"  
  
Wanda and Lance ran down the stair, but, unfortunately for Lance, he was going to slow. Wanda shoved him about half way down and he crashed at the bottom of the staircase.  
  
"What the hell?!" Lance said, staring in awe at Todd.  
  
"Pixie did something! She said she would do something and she did!" Todd yelled.  
  
Blob put him on the ground, and he hopped around excitedly to prove that he was as good as new. Lance stood up and looked at Fred. Wanda grabbed Todd's arm when he hopped past.  
  
"Did you hear music?" she said, her eyes dark and serious. "Tell me!"  
  
Toad nodded his head. "Yeah, sweetums, but I didn't know it was real. I thought I was dreamin'!"  
  
Wanda shook her head. "No…she wouldn't do that. She knows what she would risk…"  
  
"Wanda, what are you talking about?"  
  
Wanda stamped her foot on the cold wooden floor. "Everyone, get clothes on," she said, focusing particularly on Todd. "We have to find Pixus."  
  
Lance shrugged. "Who's Pixus?"  
  
"Shut up and stick with Toad. You can smell her, right?" Wanda asked, looking deep into Todd's eyes.  
  
Under any other circumstance, Todd would have passed out from the love, but now wasn't the time. Wanda seemed too nervous to tamper with.  
  
"Yes. She smells like a dragonfly," he said calmly, looking into her eyes  
  
"Freddy, I need you to stay here and wait for Pietro. When he comes, tell him to get his butt into Bayville and search for her. You come then. I will go with Toad and Lance now. Come on."  
  
Todd immediately hopped after her, but Lance remained where he was. "What are we looking for, a fairy?!"  
  
Wanda threw a Hex Bolt in his direction. It slammed into him and began to pull him across the floor and out the door. Todd, Wanda, and Lance got in his jeep and drove into town. Once there, Todd smelt the air for any spicy traces of dragonfly.   
  
"Well?" Wanda growled from the passenger seat of the car.  
  
Todd shook his head. "Nothing yo. Keep drivin'."  
  
"Damnit!" Wanda spat as she looked at the road ahead.  
  
They drove around the city going down every road that they found, driving countless circles around Bayville. Finally, Todd's eyes opened wide, and he jumped out of the car, landing on the sidewalk and hopping down an alley. Lance veered the car around and let Wanda out while he went to park the car in the closet place available.  
  
Toad hopped down the alley towards the smell, but the closer he got to it, the closer he got to another smell: the smell of burning hair and skin. He stopped and waited for Wanda. She ran up next to him and looked ahead.  
  
"Why did you…oh my god!" she said, holding her nose. "That's even worse than you!"  
  
"Do you know what that is?" Todd whispered in a hushed, frightened voice.  
  
Wanda looked at him with puzzlement and shook her head.  
  
"That's the smell of burning flesh," Todd said, hopping forward another few feet.  
  
Wanda gasped and ran forward, following him. He eventually stopped and backed into a wall, turning his head and whimpering loudly. Wanda walked up to him and immediately she felt the urge to throw up which she promptly did. She felt Todd's hand on her back. Wanda regained control of herself and looked up again, this time keeping her lunch down or what was left of it.  
  
The body was almost nude and most of the garbage bags around her had melted. The left side of the body was covered with blisters while the right side was completely white with the hilts of two swords sticking out. All of her hair was gone and there were blisters on her head. She was lying on her side facing them with her head resting against melting trash bag. What little clothing she had left was near her waistline, but the rest had been burned away, A few feet away lay the blue flute, and it had been unharmed by the fire. The Hex Mistress grabbed the end of the sword and grimaced. She gave it a hard yank and pulled it out. She immediately threw up afterwards. She wiped her mouth and grabbed the hilt of the second sword, yanking it out as well. Wanda took off her trench coat and wrapped it around her, taking care to cover her completely.  
  
About that time, Lance ran up behind them and gasped, uttering a horrified squeak. With a look of disgust on his face, he walked over to Wanda. She didn't look up at him, but she drew her coat to a close in front of the body and buttoned it.  
  
"Go get an ambulance, you dumbass!" She yelled, causing a trash bag to fly at Avalanche.  
  
Lance took off down the alley, disappearing into the street. Wanda backed off, and Toad gathered the broken spirit in his arms, holding her as close to him as he could. The Scarlet Witch looked around for the flute and found it again. She bent down, took it into her hand, and then grabbed the two swords. Todd had already started to walk towards the jeep. Wanda followed feeling very lightheaded and dizzy. She saw Lance in the shop across the street, yelling frantically into a phone that was behind the counter. He put the phone back on the receiver and ran outside.  
  
"They're on their way!" he said, making his way across the street.  
  
By this time, pedestrians had begun to stop and stare. Wanda put the flute and swords under the floorboard of Lance's jeep and waited. He leaned against the hood and stared at the hairless red and white body that Todd had in his arms.  
  
They heard the sound of an ambulance in the distance, causing all of them to look. It swerved around the curb and pulled up behind Lance's jeep. The men in white jumped out, pulled the stretcher from the ambulance, and hurried to the freshman who held the wounded. Todd put her on the stretcher, and they wheeled it to the ambulance before sliding it inside. One of the men was standing outside with a clipboard. He came towards them just as they closed the ambulance doors to begin pumping her with antibiotics.  
  
"Do you know the victim?" he asked with a squeaky voice.  
  
"Her name is Pixus Raise," Todd said. "She lives with the owners of the Night Sun. She's seventeen. She's uh new here."  
  
The man jotted what he knew down and called someone over to him and gave them orders to go alert the people at the Night Sun. Suddenly, a door in the back of the ambulance opened and a man stepped out. He walked over to the man with the clipboard and whispered something to him. The man with a clipboard looked at them and sighed.  
  
"Are you aware that the victim has wings?" he said in a confused tone.  
  
Wanda nodded calmly while the other two stood there with wide eyes and round mouths.  
  
"Do you know how the accident happened?"  
  
"No, we just found her," Wanda lied.  
  
The man nodded and walked back to the ambulance. "You kids go home. What's a phone number I can reach you at?"  
  
"421-2341," Lance answered.  
  
"Okay, expect a phone call tomorrow. We'll tell you her status then."  
  
He jumped into the passenger seat of the ambulance and the men and woman went in the back and drove off, leaving the three teenagers on the curb.  
  
Todd turned to Wanda. "You knew she had wings?"  
  
"Of course she has wings. She's half fairy, you moron," Wanda hissed, deciding that they would find out anyway since Pixie's cover had been blown.  
  
The awkward silence that occurred after that was frightening. Wanda jumped into the car and barked at Lance to come drive it. Lance did, and Todd hopped into the back of the car.  
  
"But…there's no such things as fairies, is there?" Lance whimpered.  
  
Wanda shook her head and looked at him. "They just exist in a different world. Now, shut up and don't talk to me. I think it best if we left this alone for tonight. We don't even know if she's alive."  
  
Todd bowed his head, and Lance could see it through the rear view mirror. "Toad, you gonna be okay?"  
  
"It was my fault, wasn't it, Wanda?" His words pained her, even though she didn't show it entirely.   
  
Todd knew it was his fault, and nothing that she said would drive him from that. He bowed his head again and lied down on the backseat, curling into a fetal position and closing his eyes. Wanda knew he was crying, and she knew that no insults or crude remarks were needed right now. His emotional wound was cavernous, and she knew it would take a long time for him to heal. She realized that he cared for her, maybe in the same way that Pietro cared for her. Was her little slave going to leave her and follow someone else? Was she playing too hard to get? Sure, Toad wasn't her idea of the perfect man at all—quite the opposite, in fact—but he did care for her. Didn't he? Even if he did leave her and go after Pixie, Wanda knew that she could never hate her. Pixie had been there through her most lonely years, and she even stayed with her past puberty, which was usually against her rules of regulation, but she knew Wanda needed it. So, every night, she was there for a few hours, and even during the day too. She had always been there. She had even been there for Todd during his infancy. Lance, too. Even Pietro. She had known every baby that was born. She had watched over them. She kept watch, but only a few remembered her. Wanda had been the selected one and probably the only one that she had stayed with until past the remembering age, which was usually twelve. Pixie had left her halfway through her fifteenth year, and here she was again. Wanda had been upset that she had left, but then Pixie told her about the assassins, and Wanda understood.  
  
She turned her head to the side, just enough to see him out of the corner of her eye. "She knew what she was doing when she did it, Toad. She knew what could happen. She did that because she…cared…for you. That's what she does. She protects people. Humans and Mutants, she protects us."  
  
Todd sobbed and curled into a tighter ball, whimpering. "She's going to die, isn't she?"  
  
Wanda felt a tear roll down her cheek. "I…don't…know."  
  
Toad fell deathly silent and didn't say another thing for the rest of the trip. When they got back home, he just walked upstairs and went into his room, locking the door. Walked! Toad didn't walk! He hopped everywhere!  
  
Wanda explained to Blob what had happened, and she was surprised that Pietro still wasn't home. Everyone went to bed except Wanda, who felt enough remorse to stay up and tell Pietro what had happened to his girl while he was out.  
  
It was quiet, and she began to doze off on the sofa watching the news to see if they had put the horrible burn victim story on the air yet. They hadn't. Pietro was definitely going to get a Hex Bolt when he came home. She thought about knocking him out the window, or maybe locking him in his closet and barricading the door for the night.  
  
She heard the door open and shut in one motion, and she sent a Hex Bolt flying in the direction of the kitchen, hitting Pietro where she had wanted it to. He fell on his face, and she stood up and walked over to him.  
  
"Ow... Wanda, we have to get the guys up. Pix was taken by some guys and…" he said, standing up.  
  
"I know," she growled. "We already found her body. She's in the hospital's intensive care unit."  
  
The Hex Bolt disappeared, and Wanda began to make her way upstairs, concluding that the emotional pain would be enough revenge.  
  
"What?!" Pietro asked, speeding in front of her.  
  
"Your girlfriend's in the intensive care unit. She's got second and third degree burns over 80 fucking percent of her body," The Hex Witch said, getting not even an inch away from his face.  
  
Pietro's arm shot to the side, attaching itself to the wall. He slumped to one side, his legs barely useful now. Wanda looked at him as his eyes stared at the floor without any emotion at all.  
  
"They're going to call us tomorrow and tell us how she's doing, so answer the goddamn phone the first time it rings," she growled, walking up the stairs.  
  
Todd heard Wanda's door close, and for the first time, he heard Pietro's slow footsteps coming up the stairs. He went to his room in front of Wanda's and closed the door.  
  
Todd knew that Pietro liked her. Todd liked her too, but he wasn't sure what Wanda would do to him if she found out. Pixie had even kissed him. As of now, he was farther ahead of Pietro for once at something. It was a little kiss, probably out of sympathy, but it was a kiss nonetheless. He wondered what it felt like to be kissed on the lips. Sure, he had kissed Wanda, and, if Kurt hadn't been there, would have been dead before he could blink. But he wondered what it felt like to have the girl kiss back. He knew it had to felt good because Kitty and Lance did it all the time, and Pietro had even had make out sessions with girls at school that Todd saw, but he had never felt it.  
  
She was the first girl to actually kiss him now that he thought about it.  
  
And he had caused all this. If he hadn't been pick pocketing that night, those jocks wouldn't have gotten mad, and they wouldn't have jumped him at school. He wouldn't have gotten so hurt, and she wouldn't have healed him and gotten into whatever she had gotten into.  
  
What would she do if he had kissed her?  
  
Would she be like Wanda and freak out and threaten him within a hair of his life?  
  
Or would…she do something else?  
  
Toad had no clue what, but he kind of wanted it to be something that the girls that Lance and Pietro kissed did. He wanted her to like it too. He really wanted it to be Wanda, but it was clear that she didn't like him, but Pixie had chosen to put him in front of Pietro. Not like he was ever going to tell Pietro that she had kissed him or anyone for that matter.  
  
Here he was conversing with his romantic side while she was in hospital. She didn't even look human now. He didn't even know if she was going to make it through the night.  
  
She had to.  
  
For the first time, Todd dropped to his knees and prayed, unaware that it was God who had saved her from shattering her fragile body on contact, and it would be God who would raise her in five days time and bring her out of the hospital one week later as a walking miracle.  
  
The Bird Chick: Yeah, I know it's shorter than the others, but I had lots of big paragraphs in it. I'll try and get up some more chapters, but it'll be a few days. Thanks for the reviews!! :D 


	7. The Plan

Treble Clef  
  
By Silver Falcon  
  
Chapter Seven  
  
Marcie felt her heart stop as soon as she entered the room. If it wasn't for Jack being behind her, she would have busted her head on the tile floor. A pulse had been found, but her body was lined with breathing machines and heart beat monitors. It was a deep set coma that they had found her in.  
  
"Oh, Pixie..." she whispered weakly.  
  
Jack turned to the nurse that had brought them there. "Yes, prep her for surgery and tell me what happened."  
  
The nurse flipped a few pages on her clipboard and read. "It doesn't specify, but she was found near the Donut Shop by a group of teenagers. She has second and third degree burns over 85% of her body, along with the two stab wounds on her right thigh and arm."  
  
Jack sighed. "Prep her for the surgery. I want you to do everything within your power to save this girl."  
  
The nurse nodded and hurried off. With one hand around her waist, Jack led Marcie to the chair next to the bed and sat her down. Marcie clutched her chest and gasped for air.  
  
"Pixie…"  
  
"Marc, we can't do anything except pray right now…"  
  
She burst into tears and leaned on him, wrapping her arms around his waist. "She was so young! I hardly knew her! She didn't even have a chance!"  
  
Jack rubbed her head. "Marc, she'll be okay. Let's go to the church and pray. Come on. They'll be taking her for skin grafts any minute now, and that'll be a few hours. Come on…"  
  
"I can't leave her, Jack…" Marcie whimpered.  
  
He embraced her and nodded. "Okay, we'll stay with her."  
  
He pulled up a seat next to her and let her cry on his chest. Jack began to doze off around two in the morning, but, somehow, he was able to stay awake until four. At two, just three hours later, they took her into the surgery unit. Marcie had cried herself to sleep and had her head resting on his shoulder, her arms tangled around his.  
  
***  
  
Pietro had been awake since seven, straining his ears to hear the phone ring. Everyone else was asleep, but he felt sick all night. He didn't get much sleep because of it. He lied there under his blankets staring at the wall, wishing has hard as he could that the phone would ring.  
  
A second after that, it did.  
  
Pietro was downstairs with the phone in hand before it had time to finish the first ring. "Hello!?" he asked in a very fast voice.  
  
"Hello, I am calling on behalf of the burn victim that you found last night. She has been into surgery and visiting hours are nine to three and six to eight."  
  
"What room is she in?"  
  
"A-4-23."  
  
"Is she okay?"  
  
"She has been in a coma for the past few hours, sir."  
  
"Okay. Thanks. Bye."  
  
"Bye, sir."  
  
Pietro dropped the phone on the hook and ran upstairs to bang on Wanda's door and wake her. She was already awake and standing at the door with her black robe on.  
  
"She's in a coma, and he said that she had been into surgery."  
  
"Wake Todd. You, him, and I are going to the hospital."  
  
Wanda turned around and walked inside her room, closing the door. Pietro knocked on Todd's door, but to his surprise, it was unlocked.  
  
And to his shock, Toad wasn't in his room. He shrugged and went to his room to put some decent clothes on. Wanda came out after he did and looked into Toad's room to find he wasn't there like Pietro had found.  
  
"Where's Toad?" she asked, her voice carrying itself down the stairs.  
  
"No clue. He must've gone to the hospital already," Pietro said from the kitchen.  
  
Wanda knew that was probably where he was.  
  
***  
  
Jack looked up at the door sometime around five. It had opened shyly, and the tan-haired boy walked in.  
  
"Um…Pixie's room?" he asked quietly.  
  
Jack nodded. "They're going to bring her back in about thirty minutes."  
  
Todd came in and sat down in the corner, sitting on the floor and staring at the tile. He looked up after a few minutes to see Jack staring at him.  
  
"You one of her little school buddies?" he asked.  
  
Todd nodded. "I'm the one that she got detention for saving."  
  
Jack smiled. "Ah. Well, protecting a friend is a good way to get detention, I guess."  
  
Todd stared at the floor. "How long have you been here?"  
  
"Since eleven last night."  
  
"She is going to live, right?" Todd asked, raising his sympathetic gaze.  
  
Jack nodded. "Yeah, but they said that they might run across some complications, but so far, there haven't been any."  
  
Toad smiled and silently thanked God for answering his prayer. She was going to live!  
  
A doctor came into the room. "She's been moved to another room. Please follow me."  
  
Jack gently shook Marcie's shoulders. She groaned and opened her eyes. She shot up.  
  
"It's morning! Is she okay?!"  
  
Jack stood up. "Yeah. Come on. They moved her."  
  
Marcie saw Todd in the corner. "You must be…Todd, right?"  
  
Todd nodded. "I'm the one who got her in detention."  
  
"Oh…"  
  
They followed the doctor into another room that was larger and had more monitors than the other room did. The blisters and burns had stopped swelling, and she had a scale-like substance on her right side. Her eyes were closed, and the tube down her throat was no consolation.  
  
"Do you know that she has wings?" Todd said, looking at Marcie and Jack.  
  
They shook their heads.  
  
"A friend of mine says she knew her for a long time. She said that she's half fairy and half mutant."  
  
"We knew she was a mutant, but fairies aren't real."  
  
The door opened and the red-clothed girl shook her head. "On the contrary, they are real."  
  
Todd's eyes opened. "Wanda?"  
  
Pietro appeared behind her. "Yeah, we came too."  
  
Todd hopped over to Wanda and smiled. "He said that she was going to live."  
  
Jack extended his hand towards her. She took it and shook it slowly. "My name's Jack, and this is my fiancée Marcie."  
  
"I'm Wanda, this is my brother Pietro, and this is Todd."  
  
Wanda shook Marcie's hand too, and Pietro walked to the bedside. "How'd…she get like this?"  
  
Wanda walked over to him and put her arm on his shoulder. "She has three men after her that have been trying to kill her for fifty years. Every time she plays that flute, it creates a homing signal that they follow."  
  
"Fifty years?" Marcie asked.  
  
"Yes, she's been alive for almost a thousand years. She wears the long trench coat to hide her wings, but most of her clothing was burned."  
  
Jack's face grew angry. "Who are the men following her?"  
  
Wanda shook her head. "Even if you found them, you can't kill them. They are far from this world. She is the Protector of Humans and Mutants, and she protects us from the Fairy Realm."  
  
"I thought fairies were good."  
  
"No, fairies hate humans." Wanda walked to the side and touched the scale-like covering on Pix's shoulders. "I think we need to wait. If she comes out of her coma, then perhaps she would be able to tell you in more detail about herself."  
  
Pietro moved to her right side and covered her hand with his, remaining silent and just staring at the monstrosity that used to be the most gorgeous woman he knew.  
  
The door opened slowly. Rogue poked her head in and walked inside with Kitty, Jean, and Scott behind her.  
  
"Ya' guys know her too?" she asked. "Wow. Ah…didn't think it would be that bad… They announced her name ova the news this morning, and we kinda"  
  
Kitty covered her mouth. "Oh my goodness."  
  
On normal circumstances, a brawl would occur then and there, but this was a hospital. Rogue looked at Wanda and Pietro and came into the room, approaching the two adults.  
  
"Ya can call meh Rogue. Ah met her tha other day at school."  
  
"I had no clue that she knew you guys," Scott said, partially surprised and partially disgusted.  
  
"Well, she and Toady over there just clicked," Wanda said.  
  
Everyone looked at Todd who was still sitting in a corner. Kitty walked over to him and noticed that something was missing.  
  
"Did you take a bath? You smell like Pert Plus!"  
  
Todd blushed and nodded.  
  
"Wow. I didn't think you had it in ya," Scott said smiling.  
  
"Yeah, Todd. We're proud!" Jean said.  
  
Todd stood up and shrugged. At about that time, the doctor came in. "If you…(wow, maybe we need to move her to a bigger room)…would so kindly step into the lobby for about an hour, we have to make sure her vital signs are stable."  
  
Everyone in the room left, and Pietro was the last one out. They walked back down the hallway and settled in the lobby. Toad had taken his predicted seat next to Wanda on the loveseat. Pietro had claimed a chair. Marcie and Jack were in another love seat. The X-Men had taken seats that were lined together.  
  
"How did she meet you?" Kitty asked.  
  
Wanda was quiet for a moment. "Todd talked to her a few days ago. He introduced her for Pietro, and when Todd got in that scramble, Pietro brought her over and introduced her to me."  
  
"Do any of you know how this happened?"  
  
"Yeah. This was an attempt assassination."  
  
"What!? Why would someone want her dead?" Rogue asked. "Sure, Ah don't know her very well, but why would someone want to kill her?"  
  
"I'm not really sure. She never told me that," Wanda answered.  
  
Todd crouched on the sofa in his usual fashion, staring across the lobby at the X-Men.  
  
"Is there anyway that you could asked the professor to use his powers to find a mutant that can heal?" he said, blurting his statement out of the silence.  
  
It appeared that he had thought about it for a long time. Jean looked at Scott.  
  
"We will ask."  
  
Todd smiled. "I owe ya one yo."  
  
Rogue stood up and walked over to Pietro. "Uh. Ya' okay?"  
  
"Yeah. I just need sometime away from all the freaks," he sneered.  
  
Rogue growled in his direction and returned to her seat.  
  
Todd stood up and went over to Marcie. "I'm…um…sorry."  
  
Marcie hugged him. "It's okay. She'll be okay. We just have to pray for her."  
  
Todd smiled and looked up at Jack. "I have to go do something. I'll uh…see you all later."  
  
Todd hopped out of the door. He jumped on top of a low restaurant and began to make his way across Bayville.  
  
He would go to the Professor now. He would ask, and surely, someone would join his cause. She had saved his butt, now it was time for him to save her. Maybe she would like him.  
  
There had to be a healing mutant somewhere. There just had to be. Surely the professor would help him. He would help save the last good fairy, wouldn't he?  
  
Todd hopped faster, knowing Kurt could port whoever it would be here, and then he or she could heal Pixie. He would help save her, and when those jerks came back for her, he would help stop them.  
  
He felt his heard soar when the mansion came into sight. He jumped over the fence and darted up to the door before the stun lasers came out of the ground. He knocked on the door, being careful to avoid the lasers.  
  
"Let me in! Professor!!! Please!! This is a matter of life and death!" he yelled.  
  
Wolverine had to be the one that opened the door. "Yeah, bub. You're right. You live if you leave, you die if you stay."  
  
Todd hopped between Wolverine's legs and into the mansion.  
  
"Professor Xavier! Please! This is serious! No jokes! I swear! I'll let Wolfie here kill me if I am kidding," he yelled to the empty mansion before quickly adding, "which I am not!"  
  
Ororo walked out of the room in front of him. "Todd, stop."  
  
He did, sitting on the floor contently. "I have to talk to Xavier. Please. This is an emergency…"  
  
Storm smiled, her motherly face kind and loving and totally the opposite of Wolverine. Todd smiled in return, thinking that he would get his chance.  
  
"Come on. Follow me," she said, walking down the hallway.  
  
Suddenly, Wolverine came ripping down the hallway claws extended, but he stopped short when he saw that Todd was following Ororo. Suspicious, he followed, claws still extended as warning.  
  
"Professor Xavier? You have someone here to see you."  
  
Ororo held the door open for Toad, and he hopped into Xavier's office. Xavier was looking out the window, but he turned around the instant the door closed.  
  
"Man, I have to ask you for a big favor," he said, hopping slowly towards him.  
  
"What is it?" Charles said slowly.  
  
"I need you to help me save the last fairy. Please, I know it sounds stupid, but it's not. She's in the hospital right now. Can't you get on that Cerebro thing and find a healing mutant?"  
  
As silly as it must have seemed for Charles, he smiled. "The last fairy?"  
  
"Please, you can ask Wanda! She knows everything about her! This fairy is real!"  
  
Todd's begging struck Xavier as hilarious, but he kept a straight face. "Yes, I'll see what I can do. I'll see. Right now, I suggest you go back to the hospital and wait with your friend.  
  
"Pixie," Toad said.  
  
"Pixie? Is that her name?"  
  
Todd's heart sank. "Please, just read my mind and you'll know that I'm telling the truth."  
  
"I know you are. I'll go check Cerebro, and you go back to your friends. I'll give you the news as soon as I can."  
  
Todd jumped up and did a back flip. "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!"  
  
He leaped out of the window and began to make his way across the yard.  
  
Ororo came in. "What was that about?"  
  
"Do you believe in fairies, Ororo?" Xavier asked.  
  
Ororo stopped and stared at him. "Well, Charles, no…"  
  
"There's one at the hospital. Come with me to Cerebro. I'll need your help."  
  
Ororo nodded and walked out of the room with the Professor behind her.  
  
***  
  
"Now, let meh get this straight. Pix is 1000 years old?!" Rogue asked, nearly killing over from the shock.  
  
Wanda nodded. "So no one act shocked when she gets better. We all know about her wings. We all know that she's half fairy and that she's being chased by three hardcore assassins. So, just lay off of her for a while and act like everything's normal." Wanda stood up and began to pace. "The men that are after her are assassins sent by the Big Cheese of all the fairies. There is very little that we would be able to do to hurt them"  
  
Pietro stood up. "The dragon one…his name was Forez, I think. He was the one that can breathe fire, right?"  
  
The witch nodded. "Yes."  
  
"What about Pyro? What if we like recruited him for this short little while…"  
  
Wanda put her hands on her hips and scoffed. "Pietro, you idiot. I am not going to let Magneto or his rats help us! Pyro probably would just recruit them for Magneto!"  
  
Pietro cowered at his sisters outburst. "Well, still. The one with four swords wasn't fazed at all with the punches I threw at him, and I'm in perfect shape."  
  
"You idiot! They are immortal! They are probably older than she is! They aren't stupid nor are they weak!"  
  
"We can beat them! For her sake, we have to!"  
  
Wanda was about to say something, but Todd hopped through the front door. "I asked him! He said he would check and see if he could find one!"  
  
Scott grinned. "You went to the mansion, and Wolverine didn't shred you?"  
  
"Xavier said that he would see if he can find a healing mutant!" Todd dashed up to Wanda and hugged her before jumping away to avoid death. Pietro collapsed in his seat. "Where's fuzzy?"  
  
Rogue bowed her head over crossed arms. "He went with Beast and Cannonball to a science lab down in Atlanta, Georgia."  
  
Todd nodded. "Man…"  
  
Who was going to port the healer back? 


	8. In Need of a Clue

Treble Clef  
  
By Silver Falcon  
  
Chapter Eight  
  
Ororo waited patiently at the airport an hour outside of town, watching and waiting for the redheaded man to come out of his flight. She leaned against the vending machine, her eyes scanning the group of people. The professor had complied with Todd's request, using Cerebro to find a healing mutant that went by the alias of Gabriel. His real name was Geri Parker, and he lived in Nevada. They had told him about their circumstance, and he booked the next flight to Massachusetts (That is where Bayville is right? If not, just hang with me.) He had called them and told them when he was to arrive, and here Ororo was.  
  
She watched the crowd of people flood past her, the droning of noise seeming like a buzz in her ears. The endless flow of people would make it nearly impossible to find him, and that meant that she would be here for at least another hour. Ororo hated airports. Of all the places, it had to be an airport. There was so much noise and ruckus. It was hard for one to think at all!  
  
He had said that he would wear a dark red shirt and blue jeans with a cross around his neck. She had combed the passengers, watching waiting…  
  
"Ororo Munroe?" a shy voice answered behind her.  
  
She turned around and nearly drowned in the deep green eyes of the young man behind her. He looked around twenty, maybe twenty five, and he had a head full of messy red hair that poked up all over the place. He had a book bag and a suitcase and looked not at all exhausted from his flight.  
  
"Geri Parker?"  
  
"Actually, it's Geri. It sounds like J-E-R-R-Y."  
  
"Oh my mistake. Well, do you need help with your luggage?" she asked, holding out her hand.  
  
He smiled and shook his head. "No ma'am. Just lead the way."  
  
Ororo smiled. Geri looked like the very essence of innocence with his big eyes and sweet face. She walked with the crowd, turning her head every few minutes to make sure he was still behind her.  
  
"I want to thank you for what you're doing. I really don't know the girl, but some of the students do, and it means a lot to them."  
  
He nodded. "I would have come anyway. Healing is what I do."  
  
Gabriel kept as close to her as he could, making sure that he didn't lose her in the crowd. Ororo felt him occasionally bump into her because someone had shoved him. They finally made it out to Ororo's car. She opened the trunk, and he put his luggage back there before moving to the passenger seat. She sat in the front and poked her keys into the ignition.  
  
"You look young…"  
  
He smiled. "Thank you. You look…twenty-five?"  
  
"Twenty-eight," she laughed.  
  
As they drove down the road, she noticed that he had been drawn to staring out the window. She knew he was probably taking in the sights since this new place was the last place he thought about coming.  
  
"Are you hungry? We can stop on the way if you want."  
  
He turned and looked at her and shook his head. "No, I'm fine, but thank you."  
  
Why couldn't more boys be like Geri? He was so polite and quiet. Too bad the boys at the institute were just the opposite.  
  
"You have any family in Nevada?"  
  
"No, I'm an only child, and my parents live in Canada."  
  
"Have a girlfriend?"  
  
He laughed. "I've dated but no girlfriends."  
  
It had begun to rain when she had driven him to the institute. He took his luggage to his room, took a shower, and changed his clothes. When he came down, Ororo was standing there with Wolverine and Professor Xavier.  
  
"Welcome, Geri."  
  
"It's a pleasure to be here."  
  
"We will accompany you to the hospital. Come along. The children are waiting for us."  
  
In no time at all, he was in a vehicle again and moving towards the hospital. For the past three days, the children had come and gone regularly, but it was spring break, and no one minded.  
  
It was his first time on this side of America. He was nervous on the plane and nervous here. He didn't know these people very well, but he had talked on the phone with Professor Xavier many times before coming here. He felt comfortable talking to him, but now wasn't the time to talk.  
  
He wasn't sure exactly what he was healing, but he knew that he had the God-Given ability to do it. He heard it was a girl, and that she had extreme burn wounds. He wasn't afraid, but something told him that this healing was going to be different.  
  
When they entered the hospital, they saw Rogue and Kitty sitting in the lobby talking. They had phoned them earlier and told them to wait for them so they would know exactly where to go. Kitty stood up.  
  
"Hey! Mr. Logan! Professor! Miss Munroe!"  
  
"How are Jean and Scott?"  
  
"They're in tha room keeping an eye on tha Brotherhood," Rogue said.  
  
Gabriel walked out from behind Wolverine and looked at the two girls. Immediately, their faces looked surprised and seemed to shout 'Hello, Gorgeous!'  
  
He tried to cower behind Wolverine again, but Logan moved aside. Geri looked at the floor to hide his blushing face.  
  
"Well, they're waiting for you. Come on!" Kitty said softly.  
  
Everyone began to follow the two girls. The hallways were quiet and had a smell that made Gabriel want to gag. He didn't like hospitals, but he visited them anyway. He had often been called an angel of God, and it earned him the name Gabriel.  
  
Geri knew that the real Gabriel had delivered the message to the Virgin Mary that she was going to give birth to Christ. He wasn't a Gabriel, but that's what he was known as in his little town in Nevada.  
  
***  
  
The door opened, and the shadows cast themselves on the floor of the dim-lit room. Todd was sitting next to the bed, holding her hand. The dark witch was in the corner, sitting in a chair and staring off into nowhere. Pietro was gone.  
  
"Marcie and Jack left a little ago. They said they had to do some business at the Night Sun and for us to watch her," Jean said, looking at Rogue and Kitty.  
  
Scott sat in a chair next to Jean, his arm around her shoulder. Todd looked up at Gabriel and for a moment, they just stared at each other.  
  
"He's the guy?" Todd asked, standing up and walking towards him.  
  
"Yes, I'm…Gabriel. I'm the healer."  
  
Toad moved aside and let Geri pass him. Gabriel looked at the girl that was lying in the bed. There were IVs and monitors all over the place. She had been skin grafted and her bones were set to fuse back together.  
  
He walked to the bedside and leaned over her, looking from her head down to her feet. Wanda suddenly found herself curiously attracted to the bedside opposite of the strange newcomer. He extended his hands over her body and put one on her stomach and one on her forehead.  
  
Then, he began to pray. His words were in a language not known to any of them, but it seemed to relax him. He opened his eyes and a mist began to pour from them. It fell onto her bed, and seeped over the edges, pouring onto the floor. Ororo bent down and put her hand in it.  
  
"It…feels like…water," she said, the mist spilling out of her hand in a slow steady stream.  
  
In a few minutes, the mist water had filled the room up to Wanda's waist, and she heard Toad sputter from the floor beside her. He rose out of it and coughed.  
  
Gabriel's hands began to glow, and the mist water began to be drawn toward his hands. In a bright flash, the mist drew back into his hands and shot into Pix's body, making it blink with each second that passed. Everyone had covered their eyes and were unable to see that with each pulse, something new happened.  
  
After about two minutes of the pulsing, Gabriel collapsed, slamming into a heart monitor. The flashing vanished, leaving the room in the dark state that it had been.  
  
Storm rushed to Gabriel's side, lifting him off the ground with his arm slung around her shoulder. He coughed, and his eyes were closed, but he was okay.  
  
Todd jumped so high that his head hit the ceiling, sending him spiraling to the floor. His muffled laugher overrode his pain, and he was bouncing like a ball in no time at all. Wanda smiled, her eyes focusing on Pixus' fully restored body. Pixie began to involuntary cough, trying to get the tube out of her lungs. A small beeping began, and in not time, doctors and nurses ran into the room and rushed everyone out.  
  
Gabriel was given some head medication and some water while the doctors tried to figure out what the hell had happened to their "worst burn case in the history of the hospital" patient. Todd couldn't peel himself from Wanda if he tried, but she wasn't to keen on forcing him off that much. He hugged her tightly, and she only had to shove him off about ten times in an hour.  
  
After everything had calmed down, Ororo had phoned Jack, and they said that they would be there in an hour. The doctors cleared out about one and everyone was allowed back in.  
  
Todd was the first to bounce in. Pixie's eyes were open but barely. Todd grabbed her hand, but her grip was little more than a quivering pressure. Her voice was nothing more than a dying whisper, but she was there. She was weak, but she was alive.  
  
One doctor remained there. He waited while the teenagers rejoiced about receiving their friend back.  
  
"This is definitely a miracle, but I need you to leave. She has to rebuild her strength. I suggest you go home and get some rest, all of you. She doesn't need this much excitement now."  
  
Everyone exited the room except Todd, who had to be drug out by Wanda.  
  
***  
  
Toad and Wanda arrived back at the Brotherhood a few minutes later. Toad jumped on Fred's shoulder and started rambling about the man Gabriel, the mist water, and the way she glowed when he had healed her.  
  
Pietro, of course, was interested, since it had been the first day that he had spent away from the hospital. The smell began to get under his skin.  
  
"She even got her hair back! It's a little longer though, but she got it all back! She's not blistered or red or anything! Her skin is just as white as snow! Ya' should have been there, Freddy!"  
  
Pietro had vacated to the corner, now pissed at Toad because he had been there when she had woken up. She had held Toad's hand first, not his. It wasn't at all how he had planned it to be.  
  
Wanda had left Toad to his own insomniac personality to night with a warning to be quiet when he finally went into his room. She was excited about Pixie's state and how lucky they had been to find someone willing to help them.  
  
There was something strange about Gabriel though. He felt…too…saint-like. Too much of a saint.  
  
Toad was still rambling when Pietro went upstairs, storming about in his anger. Lance had gone to bed already, and he was snoring like there was no tomorrow.  
  
"Do you like her?" Fred asked, stopping Toad's speed talking.  
  
"What?" he asked, not sure if he had heard the question right.  
  
Freddy grinned impishly and patted him on the back, knocking him to the floor. "Do you like her? You know…like her, as in the way you like Wanda?"  
  
Toad sat down and considered his options. Did he still love Wanda? Or had Pix become his new obsession? Pix treated him like a person, but recently, Wanda had treated him like…sort of like…a person. Then it hit him. Was she jealous? Was Wanda jealous because he had shown emotion towards Pix?  
  
"I…I don't know, Freddy. I sorta like them both, but…Pixie…she's…she's Pietro's. He wants her."  
  
Fred watched the distant gaze flood over his eyes. "You want her."  
  
Good ole Freddy…  
  
He could read Todd like a book. He wasn't too book smart, but he just had the sense of some things. Todd slumped down on the back of the sofa.  
  
"She doesn't like me, though. She likes Pietro."  
  
Freddy smiled warmly. "Yeah, maybe she does, but I haven't seen her kiss him yet."  
  
Todd fell off the back of the couch. He was dormant for a while, but then he jumped back onto the sofa.  
  
"What?!" he squeaked with wide eyes and a puny voice. "How…?"  
  
Freddy winked at him and patted him on his shoulder. "Well, I was going to ask you what you wanted on your sandwich, but when I opened the door, I saw her kissing you on your wittle cheeky weeky. Hey, I think she's hot, but I just don't feel ready for some lovin' now."  
  
"Don't tell Pietro…or Wanda…or Lance," Todd whispered.  
  
Freddy nodded. "Don't worry, little buddy. Your secret's safe with me. Pietro'd strangle you if he found out, and you're my pal, Toad."  
  
"What about Pietro? What if she does like me more than him? He'd kill me for messing with her!"  
  
Freddy nodded. "But remember, she stands up for you. She won't let him hurt you."  
  
Toad didn't know what to think anymore. "She can't love me…no one loves me. She loves Pietro."  
  
"I'm willing to bet if she loves Pietro, she loves you too."  
  
Toad shook his head. "Why?"  
  
Freddy shrugged. "I ain't that professor guy. I can't read her mind. Maybe you should ask her. I know you can get into the hospital. Go on. I won't tell anyone."  
  
Todd looked down. "What if she loves Pietro…?"  
  
"Pietro takes five girls to a dance, Toady! He can't handle just one anymore! Unless she's as fast as he is!"  
  
He was right. The last dance, Pietro had taken four or five girls with him to the dance. What would he do with Pix? Drag her and three other girls with him to the next dance? She was special, and she didn't deserve that.  
  
"I'll…go see if I can get it. I'll try to be back by morning."  
  
"Go get her, Toad."  
  
Freddy winked just as Todd jumped off the couch. He hopped out of the door and was gone.  
  
Gabriel had insisted on staying at the hospital for a while. He said he could find his way back to the institute because he had picture perfect memory. Professor Xavier knew he was lying and showed it with a stern glance, but he allowed him to stay anyway.  
  
He felt connected in some way to the sleeping girl on the hospital bed. He felt a strange emotion invade his mind each time he looked at her. She was sleeping with the purple orb revealed to the world, and Marcie had explained to him what it was. The sleeping girl's name was Pixus Raise. As of now, she had a steady heartbeat and was breathing on her own.  
  
Marcie and Jack came in and left a few minutes ago, but not after nearly suffocating him with hugs, thank-you's, and how can we repay you's. Gabriel had stationed himself in a chair, monitoring her while she was sleeping deeply.  
  
She looked so familiar it was uncanny, like a dream. Even her hair seemed to be just there. It was like a puzzle that was completed, giving the puzzle maker the satisfaction of being finished with his long-term work. She just made him feel complete, but he was certain that he had never seen her before in his life.  
  
There was a pitter-patter at the window, as it swung open. The healer jumped out of his seat, sliding against the wall.  
  
"Yo man, it's just me," Todd said, panting heavily from his little hop and climb spree.  
  
Gabriel took a few bold steps forward. "What are you doing here?"  
  
"I could ask you the same question yo," Toad said, hopping onto the floor.  
  
With his tongue and a sick look from Gabriel, he closed the window.  
  
"I wanted to make sure I …ugh… got the job done correctly," Gabriel answered.  
  
Todd nodded, accepting his answer. "I wanted to make sure you got the job done correctly."  
  
Gabriel shrugged and sat down in a chair. Todd grabbed a chair from the wall and pulled it up to the bedside, crouching on it and entangling her fingers with his.  
  
"I'm not sure that's a good idea," Gabriel whispered.  
  
Todd looked at him. "Why?"  
  
"Because sometimes a person such as yourself might feel the aftereffects of my power."  
  
"What are the aftereffects?" Todd asked, refusing to release her hand.  
  
"A person will see other injuries that she's had, but it's possible that the doctors absorbed it."  
  
Todd looked at Gabriel. "Don't tell anyone. I didn't expect you to be here."  
  
Geri nodded and stared with his large, innocent green eyes. "I promise."  
  
Todd nodded and put his head on the edge of the bed next to their hands. He slowly brought his other hand up to cover hers, feeling the warmth under both.  
  
'I have to know. Is there anything between us? Why did you kiss me? Why? Is it Pietro or me?'  
  
The purple orb disappeared briefly under her skin as it blinked, but then its shimmer became present once more. Gabriel watched as Todd's eyes closed, and it wasn't long before his breathing slowed just like hers.  
  
It was weird. She seemed to demand, just her image, something that he had never given to another woman, but he didn't know her at all. He just felt connected, like he had known her before.  
  
She and the thin boy slept peacefully, leaving him alone in the darkness to think. It was obvious that the boy cared. He knew that the first time he had seen her, and he also knew that it was a hidden caring. He would not have stole away here in the middle of the night just to see her. He wouldn't have asked him to stay quiet in that voice.  
  
He never had a girl that he had instantly fallen in love with, and because of that, he didn't believe in love at first sight. The feeling he had wasn't love, it was something else. He recognized her from somewhere, but he had no idea. Was it from a magazine? She was pretty enough to be on a magazine. No, not that he recalled. He did go to the bookstore, but he never looked at the magazines very much. She just felt like…a part of him.  
  
Who was she?  
  
Why did he remember someone who he had never met?  
  
Why did he feel connected to her like that? What did it all mean?  
  
Ever so slowly, Geri drifted into his subconscious in darkness of the room, with only unanswered questions to sleep with. 


	9. Awakening

Treble Clef  
  
By Silver Falcon  
  
Chapter Nine  
  
Pixie's first action was to squeeze whatever was in her hand. She realized it was a hand that she was holding; it tightened around hers, and another one gently rubbed the back of her own. Was it Pietro? It didn't feel like it. His hands were wider than this. It was hot, and she could feel that she had no clothes on besides the sheet. Her arms were hurting, but she could feel the IV's in them right at the elbow.  
  
"Todd?" she whispered, stirring slightly.  
  
"I'm here," he whispered back, drawing her hand to his cheek.  
  
"Where…am I? How'd I get here? How'd you get here?"  
  
She couldn't open her eyes, and she wasn't too sure she wanted to. He sat up, not releasing her hand.  
  
"We found you in an alley sometime after the green light healed me. Lance called an ambulance and brought you here to the hospital. You've been in a coma for five days, but Gabriel healed you last night, and you're okay today."  
  
Pixie rubbed her eyes with her right hand. "Well, the next time you see him, tell him that I am eternally grateful."  
  
"That blonde nurse said that you'd be coming out in about two weeks. They wanna do some tests on ya' to make sure you're okay."  
  
She opened her eyes and rubbed them ferociously. Pixie blinked a few times, trying to make the room come into focus. Todd was the only one there.  
  
"Where's Wanda and Pietro and Fred?" she asked, looking at the emptiness.  
  
Todd made a lame attempt to avoid the question. "Are you feeling okay?"  
  
Pixie grinned and stared him right in the eyes. "They don't know you're here, do they?"  
  
Todd shook his head slowly. "Freddy does…"  
  
Pix laughed. "Oh, do Marcie and Jack know I'm here?"  
  
Toad nodded. "Yeah, they had to go back to the Night Sun, though. They'll probably be visiting today."  
  
Pixie pulled her hand away from him and wrapped the sheet securely around her. "Man, I feel so stiff."  
  
Todd hopped onto the bed as she drew her knees up to her chest. He slid his hand into the back pocket of his torn jeans and pulled out a brightly colored box.  
  
"I got this for you," he said, dropping the pack of UNO cards on the bed sheets. "Something to do while you're here."  
  
She smiled and picked up the pack of cards. "Thank you, Todd. How sweet."  
  
He beamed at himself and sat down, crossing his legs. "Um…how…why…didn't you ever…tell me that you was a bug," he asked as innocently as he could.  
  
Pixie's expression changed to shame and sorrow, but she fanned her glass wings behind her anyway. They looked like long panes of glass with a black outline. She had two of them, a long set on top, and a shorter set on bottom.  
  
"I…couldn't risk them finding me. My life is about secrecy, Todd. I shouldn't have healed you, but I…couldn't help myself. I guess Wanda explained partially about me, huh?"  
  
Todd nodded. "She said that there were men after you and that you were 1000 years old. Are you…really that old?"  
  
Pixie nodded. "1242."  
  
Todd rubbed his neck. "Wow. Still lookin' good though."  
  
She smiled. "I am sorry."  
  
"Well, tell me stuff about you."  
  
Todd slid his hand across hers and retrieved the UNO cards, opening the box and pouring the cards in his hands.  
  
"I was born in Georgia in a swamp. I don't remember my birthday, but it was sometime in spring. My father was a fairy and my mother was a mutant."  
  
Todd shuffled the cards skillfully and tossed her a stack of seven before giving himself seven cards. He put the deck on the bed and flipped the top card over.  
  
"You were born in a swamp?" Toad asked, smiling.  
  
Pixie nodded. "Yeah. I'm a protector. The reason children believe in fairies is because they see me. Some forget earlier than others, but some remember. Rogue and Wanda remember."  
  
"Aren't fairies really small?" Todd said, holding his hand up with fingers two inches apart.  
  
Pixie nodded. "I'm not a fairy, though. I'm a half fairy, and the smallest I can go is a foot long."  
  
Todd smiled. "Cool."  
  
He put a green five on top of the yellow seven. Pixie looked at her cards and dropped a green three.  
  
"About a century ago, I began to wander around in New York, finding homeless people and abused children and taking them to a place that I had made in the Realm. Well, humans are forbidden in the Realm, so I was banished. The High One hired the assassins just fifty years ago, and that's the third encounter I've had with them."  
  
She felt Todd's eyes on her. "I don't understand why they're here to kill you."  
  
"The High One believed that the people I took would remember the Realm and try to infiltrate it when they were older. She put a bounty over my head so it wouldn't happen again."  
  
Todd put down a green four, followed by her green two. "Do you…like Pietro?"  
  
Pixie glanced up at him. "Sort of, but I haven't known him that long. He hasn't sat down and talked with me like you have."  
  
"What about…um…"  
  
"You? I like you, yeah. It's just…being immortal. Having boyfriends and caring for people never works when you have to watch them grow old and die. That's why I became a loner. If I were to get attached to you or Pietro, eventually, you'd die. Plus, what about Wanda?"  
  
Todd shook his head. "Wanda doesn't treat me like a person. She treats me like a slave. All of them do, except Freddy. I think the only reason she's lightened up is because she knows…thinks that I like you instead of her."  
  
Pixie nodded and put her cards in the pile on the bed. "Wanda is a good friend of mine. I really think you should continue to pursue her. I won't be able to stay here much longer. They probably think I'm dead, but if they find out that I'm not, which they will, they'll come back and kill you all."  
  
"Take me with you than."  
  
Pixie shook her head. "I can't. I will not risk a mortal life for my own feelings."  
  
"You healed me."  
  
"I healed you because I can't stand seeing people hurt."  
  
"You kissed me."  
  
Pixie stopped and looked at him. "Yes, I did. I have to admit that you are the closest thing to a friend that I've had in a long time. I didn't know…what…else to do then. It just felt right."  
  
She knew he could tell that she was hiding something. "Todd, I can't love you. I can't love Pietro. I can't love anyone, because all that comes of it is death. I can't stay here in Bayville, and I can't take you with me. Stay with Wanda."  
  
Todd kicked the metal railing off the side of the bed. "I don't want to stay with Wanda! I want to stay with you!"  
  
The tantrum startled her, making her hit the wall. "Todd! Todd, stop!"  
  
"I will protect you! I will take care of you!"  
  
"Pietro wasn't able to save me from them! I had to make sure that he would be left alone! No one can save me from them except myself!"  
  
She threw herself forward, wrapping her arms around him. "Todd, please try to understand. I care for you, I really do, but I can't love you. I can't love anyone. Not Pietro, not you."  
  
He hugged her tightly, afraid to let go. "Why…?"  
  
"I'll see you and an infinite amount of people die. If I loved every single boy that I became attached to, I would be driven to madness. Todd, please understand. Go back to Wanda."  
  
She leaned back and felt tears trickle down her face. He ran his fingers softly over her skin, removing them. He embraced her softly, letting her rest on his bony shoulder.  
  
"I'm so sorry," he whispered. "I need to go."  
  
He jumped off the bed and over to the window. "Todd, I'm sorry I hurt you."  
  
"I…just need to think… I'll talk to you later. I'm…sorry."  
  
Then he opened the window and jumped out. Pix grabbed her ears and pulled, whimpering. She crawled out of the bed and tied the sheet around her, rushing to the window, but Toad was gone.  
  
She curled up in the corner, hiding under the long sheet. "God…why?"  
  
The curse of eternal life among humans was the ultimate punishment. In a way, she did have feelings for the little guy, but she knew that he would be better off going after a mortal girl than her. She needed to talk to Jerry, but he was nowhere close to her.  
  
She was smart, but she didn't know everything.  
  
The door opened and a nurse came in. "Darling, you have a visit…oh my goodness! Are you okay?" she said, rushing to her side. The nurse lifted her off the floor and put her on the edge of the bed. "This man's name is Gabriel. He came last night, but he wanted to come again today.  
  
She watched the redheaded boy come in and sit down in a chair across from her. His dark green eyes stared directly into hers, and she knew his face almost instantly.  
  
"Jerry," she coughed.  
  
"That is my name," he said, not surprised that she knew it.  
  
"You…you're….not Jerry, but you are."  
  
He nodded. "I didn't know why I remembered you from some unknown place, but I had a dream last night that explained it all. I need you to take me somewhere."  
  
Pix nodded. "Home…"  
  
He nodded in response. "Yes…"  
  
***********  
  
The door opened, and Toad hopped into the room, his head low and his eyes on the floor. Fred was in the kitchen, no doubt fixing himself something to eat. Todd hopped in his direction before springing on his shoulder.  
  
"Bad news?" Freddy asked, looking at Todd's sorrowful face.  
  
"She's immortal, and she said that she can't love no one. I…lost it, and I yelled at her."  
  
"Oh, Toad… Maybe she is out of your league."  
  
Toad sat on his shoulder and stared at the floor. "She said she cared for me but she couldn't love me."  
  
"You going to be okay?"  
  
"I need to go to bed. Tell Wanda that…I'm…sorry."  
  
He hopped off of Fred's shoulder and out of the kitchen. He had to reflect.  
  
She cared for him. She had not said that she cared for Pietro. Was it possible that she was just scared of being hurt again? If he was immortal and he loved someone, they would grow old and die, leaving him the exact way only shattered to pieces. It would be harder to love people because they would get old and ugly while he stayed the exact same age in appearance.   
  
A thousand years was a long time. There was no telling how many people she had watched die around her. There was no telling how many crushes faded because of age or death. There was just no telling. Why couldn't she love him now though? Maybe just for a little while?  
  
Was he asking too much? Had she simply forgotten all of her emotions over the period of her life? Was it simply too hard? It couldn't be. If she loved children, then she could love teenagers too. She could love him. She could love Pietro. She just wouldn't love because she didn't like to get hurt.  
  
No one liked to get hurt, not unless they were estranged. He had to go back. He had to apologize. She was probably feeling like shit because of his little outburst. He had to tell her that he was there for her. He had to tell her that he would help her do whatever she had to. He would help her get rid of the assassins.  
  
He would have to.  
  
Wanda won't understand. She would be mad at him for leaving her side. She would probably Hex him into no tomorrow. Pietro wouldn't understand. He would probably strangle him for trying to put moves on his girl, but he hadn't talked to Toad much. He probably already knew what was going on.  
  
Todd crawled under his bed, his safe place. He'd go back later. He needed to think things over now.  
  
She was older than he was by more than he wanted to count. She was a wanderer. She waited for no one, and no one waited for her.   
  
He couldn't think of anything that would push him away from her.  
  
*******  
  
"Where is Gabriel!?" Ororo yelled, running up and down the hall.  
  
"Ah haven't seen him since yesterday. He said something 'bout goin' t' tha hospital t' see tha Pixster."  
  
Rogue had been disturbed from her book, and her answer was none too cheerful.  
  
"Yesterday? Where is he today?!"  
  
"Gone."  
  
Ororo stormed down the hall and into the garage.  
  
********  
  
He was outside.  
  
She was foraging for clothes through the old drawers. She found her old outfit, along with a new coat that was longer than the other one and sleeveless. It was made of black leather and had a split from the shoulderblades down. At the bottom was a strip of Velcro that could easily be snapped and fixed. She found her old leather boots, black leather from a time of hatred and pain. On the front of them were strapped black essence, the crystallized life energy of pain and suffering. Those had been left to her by her father. She was going to get vicious. She wore her old black pants. They were like a double skin, not to tight and allowed plenty of stretching room. She had a long-sleeved black shirt that had slitted sleeves.  
  
This was war. She wouldn't let them stalk her any more. She was the hunter, and they were her prey.  
  
They would pay.  
  
Dearly…  
  
********  
  
Pietro sped around the schoolyard, seeing how much dust he could stir up in one second. Toad was trying to compete against him. Heh! That was no competition, but his game plan had been blown. Hmm. He could pretend to not know that Toad had taken interest in her and ask him for some advice. She was his friend, after all. He could get her to go on a date with him, and in return, he'd try to bribe Wanda into going on a date with him.  
  
Toad would have to comply with him, or he'd beat the little shrimp up.  
  
He couldn't get those three men out of his mind, though. The dragon one, Forez, scared him to death. The one with four arms wasn't so bad, but the dragon scared him. It was a horrible mutant that he didn't want to see again. The third one, supposedly the leader, was something that he feared too. Those eyes were far past satanic.  
  
He stopped, all of a sudden feeling sick to his stomach.  
  
Those glowing green eyes.  
  
He had never felt the fear inside him until that night.  
  
He had been the reason that she had been captured. Why didn't he leave when she told him to? If he had, she would have escaped again.  
  
Damn…  
  
Hope you likes. ^.^ :) 


	10. Todd's Dream

Treble Clef  
  
By Silver Falcon  
  
Chapter Ten  
  
He was lying in his hammock, one arm slung over the side. He was rocking gently, his mind far off in another place. Todd felt someone touch his left shoulder and then his right. He felt the softness travel across his shoulders and up his neck. Todd stirred and felt the softness leave. He sat up and rubbed his eyes, stumbling blindly out of his hammock. He was stopped by the soft hands again, but they were behind him. He tried to speak, but he found that no words would come out of his mouth. They covered his eyes, and he felt the perpetrator move in front of him.  
  
The hands moved away from his eyes, and he opened them. It was Pixie. For a while, he just stood there in surprise and shock. She was there with the hospital bed sheet wrapped around her and tied around her neck like a dress. Her wings were down, but he could see them flash each time she moved. He took a step towards her and wrapped his arms around her.  
  
"I'm…sorry…for what happened in the hospital," he said.  
  
She drew a finger over his mouth and pressed her cheek against his. "I know. It wasn't your fault. It was mine."  
  
Her voice was a gentle whisper, and it calmed him. She took her right hand and drew it to his cheek, carefully caressing his skin.  
  
'What the hell is happening?' he thought to himself. 'Not that I'm complaining or anything.'  
  
She moved her head and looked into his eyes, and it occurred to him that their faces were only centimeters apart. What was happening? He watched her close her close her eyes and lean forward ever so slightly, and a second afterwards, he did the same.  
  
'So this is what a kiss feels like… Wow…'  
  
She pulled away and hugged him. "I have feelings for you, Todd, even though admitting I do is hard. Please forgive me."  
  
And with that, she kissed him again. "All is…and forever will be forgiven," he nearly cried.  
  
She smiled and hugged him again. "I have to tell you something."  
  
Her voice all of a sudden grew serious. "I will have to leave Bayville for a few days, but I assure you, I will come back."  
  
Todd's expression dropped. "Where are you going?"  
  
She came close again with her mouth next to his ear. "For your safety, I dare not utter it here."  
  
"You'll come back before I'm sixteen, right?"  
  
She smiled. "I'm only going to be away for a few days. I'm taking Gabriel with me, so I want you to find some way to deliver that message to Rogue or Kitty."  
  
"Why are you taking him?"  
  
"I have to reunite him with someone. I will be back, Todd. Sleep well."  
  
She kissed his forehead and led him to his hammock. He jumped in it and held his arms out like a toddler wanting one more hug before she left. She embraced him tightly and walked back to the window. She slid through the glass much like Kitty would and disappeared in a flash of light.  
  
Todd stared at the window for a long time, still trying to figure out if that had really happened or not. Eventually, sleep overtook him, and he collapsed on his swinging bed.  
  
"Toad! Wake up! It's five o'clock for cryin' out loud! Come on, you smelly little bug!" It was obvious that Pietro wanted something.  
  
"What yo?" he groaned from his hammock.  
  
"Damnit! Open the door!" Pietro's constant drumming against his door was beginning to get annoying.  
  
Toad hopped over to his door and unlocked it. Pietro burst through the door, closing it at once. Todd watched him lean against the door.   
  
"Will you convince Pixie to go on a date with me?" he asked, his words speedy as normal. "I'll get Wanda to go on a date with you…"  
  
Todd lazily sat on the floor before jumping back in his hammock. "Ask me in five minutes."  
  
Pietro rushed forward and knocked Toad across the room. "I'm asking you now, you little… Just please. The next time you see her, can you get her to go to dinner with me next Saturday?"  
  
Toad nodded. "Sure, but you remember what you said you'd do yo."  
  
Pietro patted him on the back. "Thanks, buddy."  
  
And he was gone again. Toad hopped back into his hammock and went back to sleep, hoping he'd have the same dream again.  
  
*************************  
  
Pixie walked outside of the creaky log cabin, newly dressed with her new getup. In her right hand, she held a long, straight staff that had many branches at the top that spiraled around each other. She had abandoned any bandanas since she felt that it was time for her to come out of hiding. If people noticed it, then they noticed it. It wasn't her problem.  
  
She saw Gabriel stand in front of the childlike statue of an angel and a duplicate of himself at ten. He had been standing there for a few hours, just drowning in the image. She walked up to him and put her hand on his shoulder. He tore his eyes away and looked at her.  
  
"You ready?" she asked, her voice soft and serious.  
  
He nodded. "Yes. I am ready."  
  
He climbed onto the statue and felt her push her staff against his stomach. She closed her eyes.  
  
"Turis bafis asirigi agrah rowog wijeter bieor," she chanted, using an old fairy spell.  
  
The staff began to glow, and the light transferred to Gabriel's body. He closed his eyes and felt his body grow hot. He fell backwards into the statue, both he and the statue becoming one.  
  
Pixie stopped her chanting and watched as cracks appeared over the statue. She watched the white light appear in those cracks, and she watched them fly off, flooding her eyes with bright white light. She covered them and waited. The light faded, and she opened them, extending her arms just in time to catch the falling form.  
  
Geri's had grown considerably younger, and he was wearing white robes and had long white wings behind him. He was no longer ten, nor was he twenty-three. He was the nice age of fifteen, and he was unconscious. She clutched him to her, gathering his body into her arms.  
  
Jerry had been reborn.  
  
********************  
  
Todd's dream didn't come again, but he had slept extremely well. He slept through the night and into the next morning, waking up at six. He rolled out of his bed and hopped downstairs, wishing that someone would be up at this ungodly hour of the morning.  
  
Lance was on the sofa talking to Kitty on the phone. He jumped on the back of the couch.  
  
"Whoa! Toad, go away! I'm on the phone!"  
  
"Tell Kitty to tell whoever that Gabriel went with Pixie, and they'll be gone for a few days," he croaked before dodging Lance's swinging arm.   
  
"Whatever, Toad."  
  
"No, wait, what did he say?" Kitty asked.  
  
"He said something about Gabriel going with Pixie, and they're gonna be gone for a few days."  
  
Kitty freaked out. "Oh my god. I'll have to tell Storm that."  
  
"Who is Gabriel?"  
  
Toad went outside to see if he could catch his breakfast. He hopped down the street a little ways and hopped onto a neighborhood dumpster. Flies were everywhere, and Todd had eaten every last one of them in just a few minutes.   
  
Pixie had come to him in a dream. Was that possible? Or had it been caused by his damned romantic side. Well, he wasn't sure, but that had been the best dream that he had ever had. He wished it wasn't a dream, but all the evidence pointed towards that.  
  
Did she love him? Him, the slimy little Toad?  
  
Wanda might have to find someone else. Todd's heart was with Pix right now. He would do as Pietro asked, but it was only a date, right?  
  
One date wouldn't hurt anything.  
  
Todd bounced back down to the Brotherhood, keeping an eye out for stray insects that might flitter by.  
  
When was she going to be back? When was she going to see him? When would he figure out if that was a dream or not? He wondered what it really felt like to kiss her. Even in his dream, they had been just little, shy kisses, filled with an innocent passion, but what about the kisses like Lance had with Kitty. Todd shook his head. He was moving too fast. He should be grateful for the little ones.   
  
She had kissed him first and willingly. That was a girl. That was his girl, but what would Pietro do with her on the date? Maybe he could convince her to go to a dinner and a movie or something. Maybe a walk around the neighborhood.   
  
What was she going to do with Gabriel, though? She didn't know him well enough to have a romantic relation, but she takes him somewhere out of Bayville and to some unknown place. She wouldn't do anything with him.  
  
If the dream wasn't a dream, he had been kissed by a gorgeous girl that Pietro wanted for himself. She liked him too! That was proof that there was a God!  
  
He saw Lance's jeep off to the side and remembered that that's where Wanda had put the flute and those two swords. Carefully and quietly so as not to be seen, he hopped over to the passenger seat, looking under the loose floor panel. He drew the flute out first, laying it gently on the grass, followed by the two swords.  
  
There was dried blood on the blades, her blood. He put the flute in one of his belt loops and held both swords, hopping towards the house. He jumped up to his window and kicked it open before jumping up again and entering.  
  
He put the swords and flute under his bed, the safest place he knew to put them. No one looked under there. No one could fit under there. That was his secret spot. He would tell them where she was later.  
  
He hopped downstairs again and spied Pietro on the couch. He jumped next to him, but Pietro didn't seem to notice.  
  
"What we watchin'?" he asked, peering at the screen.  
  
"What I wanna watch," Pietro barked. "Now shaddap."  
  
"I don't have to ask her to go on a date with you, ya' know. Wanda probably won't want to go down the street with me," Todd said. "Plus, she must not like you very much if you have to ask me for help yo."  
  
Pietro scoffed. "She just feels sorry for you, Warts. She wants a real man like me, one who can save her from evil not the dreaded centipede."  
  
"She respects me more than she does you."  
  
"What makes you say that, Toady? Like I said, she feels sorry for you."  
  
"Whatever yo."  
  
Toad hopped over to the stairway, as if he was going up it, but he turned around. He had no room to speak. He probably had dreams about her too, but from the shock in Kitty's voice when he had told Lance about Gabriel, his were true to some extent. Even if they were dreams, they were partially true. Pietro had no room to talk. Pixie liked him! He spat a green puddle at Quicksilver, the boldest action he had ever taken. It splattered all over his chest, but by that time, Todd had bounced up the stairs and into his room, locking it securely. He heard Pietro ram the door a second later.  
  
Todd beamed at himself and jumped on top of his bed. Pietro was going to be pretty mad when he finally got his hands on Todd, so he would agree to convince Pixie to go on a date with him. That would cool him down and keep Todd alive.  
  
He hopped to the floor and crawled under his bed, spying the two swords and the blue flute. He knew better than to play it, but he was remotely curious what would happen if he did. He didn't touch it nor did he make a move to. He knew that it would call the three assassins, and he wasn't too keen on that happening.  
  
"Toad, you little shit, open the door!!!"  
  
"Go away, Pietro!"  
  
"She doesn't love you! She doesn't even like you! She is just nice to everyone!"  
  
"That's how come she talks to me more than she does you! Admit it, Pietro! You're jealous as hell of me!" Todd screeched at the door.  
  
"I am not! I'm beyond what you could ever be, Toad! I will never be jealous of you!!"  
  
'Then how come ya are?'  
  
Todd remained silent and under his bed for a few more minutes. Pietro had stopped ramming the door, but Todd was willing to bet his life that he was somewhere close by. He scampered from his bed and over to the window, first looking around to see if there were any blurs running around. There wasn't so he opened the panes and hopped out.  
  
He believed the dream Pixie when she told him that she wasn't going to be at the hospital. He'd go to Bayville and find some more bugs.  
  
When Todd had made it into town, he found himself wondering where the Night Sun was. He should probably go tell Marcie and Jack why Pixie wasn't in the hospital. They would be really worried. He remembered something about a school dance being there in a few weeks, but he didn't remember the address very well.  
  
"It's somewhere offa the lane."  
  
Dusk Lane was where all the nightclubs were, but he didn't know how far down the lane it was. He had never been to a nightclub before. He jumped on top of the first building that he came to and stared down the lane. He thought he could see it, but he really wasn't sure. He'd have to take a closer inspection.  
  
He jumped from building to building, heading towards the sign.  
  
"Bingo…"  
  
It was the Night Sun, and there was a single car there. He jumped onto the pavement and hopped into the nearest door.  
  
"Oh…uh, Todd, right?" Marcie said from her desk.  
  
He nodded and jumped into a chair. "I came to tell you that Pixie took Gabriel somewhere. She said she had to take him to meet someone."  
  
Marcie looked puzzled. "She's not in the hospital?"  
  
"No, but she said not to worry and that she would be back in a few days."  
  
Marcie began to tremble. "But…those men…are they after her?"  
  
Todd shook his head. "No, they think she's dead. She's as good as new, but she just had to do this. She said that she would be back by the end of the week and not to worry."  
  
Marcie stood up. "Please excuse me."  
  
She walked into the back room, and Todd left.  
  
**********************  
  
Wanda walked downstairs and spied her brother on the couch. He seemed highly agitated at something, but she didn't care. She went into the kitchen and opened the fridge. Grabbing a soda, she walked into the living room and plopped down next to Quicksilver, ignoring him completely.  
  
"Change it," she growled.  
  
Pietro ignored her and continued to watch the basketball game.  
  
"Did you know your girlfriend's a fairy?"  
  
Pietro rolled his eyes. "She's just a mutant with wings."  
  
"She's a fairy," Wanda insisted. "She's known me since you and Metal Head put me in that asylum."  
  
Pietro shook his head. "Fairies aren't real. She's just a mutant with wings."  
  
"She's the one that healed Toad. You followed her the night she was attacked, and I'm willing to bet that's why you know about Forez."  
  
"What are you hinting at? That it's my fault? That's absurd."  
  
"Why are you getting so defensive?" Wanda said with a grin. "I already know. She's healed now, and it's no big deal."  
  
"Lance said that Toad knew something about her and a guy named Gabriel going somewhere. I looked in the hospital, but she wasn't there. Warts knows more than he's letting on," Pietro growled.  
  
"He's in love with her, you dumbass," Wanda barked.  
  
"So, he's in love with you too. You haven't been treating him like you usually do. You've been acting like Pixie. I think you're jealous of her. Are you? She's taken your little slave from you, Wanda," he hissed.  
  
"I don't love Toad. I'm glad he's off my heels. I can breathe again," she hissed back.  
  
"You're jealous."  
  
"Whatever, Pietro. I don't know what you're problem is, but I'd rather not talk about it over a stupid basketball game."  
  
Wanda and Pietro were so close they could strangle each other without much effort. Pietro pushed her off of him, and she hexed him into the wall before storming out the front door.  
  
She hated Pietro with a passion, and she'd rather Pixie go with Toad than him. He was so uncaring and egotistical. At least Todd had a romantic side, even though he smelt like garbage and ate bugs. Pietro's romantic side probably included getting drunk and taking a girl to bed.  
  
Boys and their stupid hormones.  
  
Pietro and Lance were the worst, but at least Lance had some decency about him.  
  
Wanda's teeth clenched involuntarily. She hated Magneto and she hated her brother.   
  
She hadn't heard from any of the Acolytes in a while. She hadn't seen Pyro snooping around, either. What was Magneto up to? She hadn't seen Gambit in a long while, and she usually met him on the street while he was heading to the institute to see Rogue. Pyro was usually following someone, but…or was he?  
  
Was he following Pix? Someone with light pink hair would certainly attract attention, but he probably thought she and Gambit were related because of the coat. One of them might remember her. Magneto probably if Pyro was stalking her.  
  
God, what is it with her?  
  
Maybe she was jealous, but the attention that she was getting was just…abnormal. First it was the assassins, then it was Toad and Pietro. Now Magneto?  
  
Sure, being the only living fairy in the human world was cool, but how did Magneto find out.  
  
Her eyes narrowed as she hissed a name, "Pietro…" 


	11. Jinn

Treble Clef  
  
By Silver Falcon  
  
Chapter Eleven  
  
Pixie knew that the assassins separated until one of them or all three were drawn to the same place by the flute. Even though she was dead to them, they would have to remain in the mortal world until the High One contacted them again. She had made it back to Bayville with Jerry and, after a brief conversation with Jack and Marcie, left him there. Marcie had a hard time understanding why she had to leave again, but she seemed to be calmed with Jerry's sleeping presence.  
  
Pixie figured she was somewhere over Canada, since it was cold and getting colder. She had sensed Jinn in this area, but there was no telling since her last flash had happened an hour ago. She was flying pretty fast, but then again, she had a lot of time to practice over the last thousand years. Pix darted above the clouds, searching for the presence of a fae essence.   
  
"Jinn! Come out, you half-brained twit! Guess what! I've been resurrected, and I'm really pissed off!"  
  
No answer came, so she kept flying. What would Todd think if she told him that she was a master at fighting? She was just as good as Jinn was with swords, but he had four and she had two. She wondered how he liked the dream that she had sent him. He probably thought it was just him thinking about her. One good thing about fairies, though. They could make dreams, sometimes even controlling them completely as she could.  
  
That certainly would put Todd on the edge of his seat. Of course, after a decade or two, things would start to hurt again, but hey, she had to live. Life without love wasn't a life; it was Hell. She'd try it again, and maybe something new would happen. She couldn't remember what it was like to have a boyfriend since hers died a long, long time ago. She couldn't even remember his name… Pixie wasn't too keen on Todd's hygiene, but she could probably influence that a little. She could live with his bug eating, since she had eaten many an insect in her past.  
  
Pietro was cool, and he could be a gentleman, but he was conceded and way to egotistical. He was a lot cuter than Todd, but after a thousand years, she really wasn't looking for someone like that. Looks did matter to her a certain tiny bit, and she thought Todd was cute in his own little way. She knew he was a troublemaker, but he was also just an abandoned little boy trying to grow into a man.  
  
"Why are you alive?" she heard a voice ask to the side, followed by the unsheathing of swords.  
  
She turned her head and smirked, her eyes turning from their placid blue color to dark pink. "Oh, Jinn, I was just looking for you."  
  
The blue-eyed man grinned and crossed the two swords in front of him, hovering in the air. "How did you survive the fall?"  
  
Pixie shrugged. "God loves me," she said before pausing. "There isn't anyone here to keep me at bay now, sword boy. Let's dance…"  
  
"You don't have any weapons, half-breed. How do you expect to defeat me?"  
  
She smiled gently. "Oh give me a break, you dumb oaf! I'm just as good as you without the cursed blades!"  
  
He shook his head. "You shouldn't insult me like that. I could call Forez and Oribisus here in a heartbeat."  
  
She fluttered closer to him. "Yeah, you could, but then you'd never know what it felt like to fight me by yourself."  
  
She was about to face off with the sword master of the Realm. She would have very little time to strike, but she would have a lot of room for mistakes. He would come down on her hard and quick, and she had to be ready.  
  
"Going to use your power, I suppose?" Jinn asked, pointing a sword to her forehead.  
  
She blinked the eye shut. "Not sure. You feel like you can win with it open?"  
  
"You may know everything I am going to throw at you, but the question is, can you dodge it all?"  
  
He sprung forward, catching her off guard. She flew up just in time to avoid decapitation, and she flew around him, his eyes on her the entire time.  
  
Pix opened her arms and held them towards the sky. She snapped her fingers, and the essence sphere hardened in her hand. He attacked her again, but his attempt to make her drop the essence failed. She flew out of his way and continued to charge it. He looked hard into her eyes, and she looked hard into his.  
  
"You've gotten better," he sneered. "Last time, I gave you a haircut."  
  
"I rather liked it too," she hissed.   
  
She began to mutter over the essence, giving it a spell to work with. The ball glowed brightly, and soon Jinn would find himself at the other end of one of her exiled fairy spells.  
  
She charged forward, and he held his swords ready. She threw the essence at him and smiled when it hit the blade of the sword. He grinned, but his grin faded when the ball shattered and light began to pour out of it. It spiraled around him and then sank into his form. He cried out loudly and felt one of his swords being lifted from his hands. Pix jerked backwards, holding his sword in her right hand.   
  
She twirled the sword in her hands. "Yeah, so what? I got a sword. Maybe I do need a weapon to kick you back to mortality."  
  
Pix held it behind her, one hand in front without the sword and one in back with it. She concentrated, watching the way he stared at her. The spell was a quick one and wore off almost instantly, but it gave her the advantage that she had.  
  
He floated a few feet towards her, a death look on his face. "You have taken three of my swords now. That one I will regain if it's the last thing I do!"  
  
He burst forward, and their two blades clanged together.  
  
**********************  
  
Marcie stared the sleeping boy that was lying on Pixie's bed. He was covered with the old quilt and had a wet cloth on his forehead. He had messy red hair on his young head, but she didn't know the color of his eyes yet. Pixie had come by and left less than three minutes later, dropping this angel off in her care. Marcie didn't quite know what to make of him. She said his name was Jerry and that she had some unfinished business to take care of.  
  
She just left him. She left this angel here. He looked like an angel, heavenly to some unknown extent. She felt safe next to him, but she knew business was business. Marcie had taken her place at the front desk, talking with school officials to plan the end of the year dance at their club on Monday, the only day they were closed. The dance was three weeks away, and she knew that Pixie's music would be needed that night. She could play remarkably well, making the boys shun her somewhat. They had hired two singers, one male and female.  
  
She sat at her desk, her mind rushing through thoughts about the angel and about Pixus. She was gone, supposedly to take care of the men who had hospitalized her. Marcie didn't know what take care of meant, but she prayed that it wasn't going to be murder.  
  
He moaned in his sleep, even cried. Who was the angel? His name was Jerry, but who was he?  
  
*************************  
  
Gabriel and Pix had gone missing, but Logan could not shake the feeling that he could smell her around here. What would she be doing all the way in Canada, though? He had usually hiked up here every two months, but he had planned this trip early. He knew he smelled her; the same smell that he had experienced in the hospital was here. Her strange dragonfly smell was here, in Canada, and there was no mistake about it.  
  
He didn't hear her or see her, but she had been here recently along with someone else. This scent was different from anything that he had smelled before. It smelled like blood.  
  
It wasn't blood, however. It was just the smell of it. Logan had searched the area, but he couldn't find one speck of blood.  
  
How strange…  
  
****************************  
  
Todd hopped up to the gate of the X-Mansion. He made no move to enter. He just stared at it. She said that Rogue remembered. What? What did Rogue and Wanda remember? He wasn't sure, and he was too afraid of Wolverine to find out. He sat in front of the gates and looked at the mansion at the end of the dirt road. What did Rogue remember?  
  
He hopped down the sidewalk and stopped short of another dumpster, his tongue darting out. In a flash, all the delicious insects were in his mouth and down his throat. He was on his way to a full stomach, which was a good thing since it hadn't happened since Pix came.   
  
Oh that kiss…  
  
Even if it was a dream, it felt good.  
  
He raided the dumpster for any insects that he might have missed hopped into the closest tree to let it settle. She had opened a new experience for him. She treated him like he was someone, not just every other girl. He wasn't obsessive. He was just…he didn't know…protective? No, not protective. He would like to protect, but he just wasn't strong enough. He just wanted her back.  
  
He wanted to know if the dream was real, if she had sent it to him as a message, and if she had sent it to him, then she knew about the kisses. She knew about what she had said. She knew about it.  
  
The thought of it made his stomach tickle him. Maybe if he went to sleep again…  
  
***************************  
  
She touched the end of her sword to his, her eyes flashing dangerously. He glared at her and flew forward, striking her sword hard with his. She deflected the blow, as he knew she would. He grabbed her with his arms and pinned her to his body, holding her arms captive.  
  
He was too close to attack her, but she was paralyzed beneath his grip.  
  
"Cheater," she growled.  
  
"All's fair in love and war. That's a human saying that you might understand."  
  
He smiled at her reaction. She clenched her teeth and hissed.  
  
"Humans are our inferiors, half-breed. You need to realize that now before it dooms you. If you go to the High One yourself and beg forgiveness, she might take us out of your hair."  
  
The way he spoke his words was odd. "You don't want to kill me, do you?"  
  
Jinn shook his head slowly. "I am a tournament fighter, not an assassin, but this job was bestowed to me by the High One. I must, despite my feelings for the situation."  
  
She pushed away from him. "So after all this time, you're going to go saint on me? I hate the High One! She can kiss my half human butt!"  
  
Jinn grimaced. "Don't talk about her like that."  
  
"Oh I forgot. She's what you worship! Get it in your head that I do not believe in her anymore! I did before she killed my dad, but now she's just a…"  
  
"Stop…"  
  
"piece of…"  
  
"STOP!"  
  
"GARBAGE!"  
  
He fumed and attacked her again, sending his blade straight across her shoulder. She hissed in pain and spun away.  
  
"I will not tolerate disrespect of the High One! Not by you, Forez, or Oribisus! You deserve to die!"  
  
"You got one shot in, and it's been an hour. Jinn, you're burning me up."  
  
She held the gash on her shoulder with her right hand, the blood spurting through her fingers.  
  
"I have to kill you. Forgive me. It was the last thing I wanted," he said.  
  
Pix drew her right hand behind her and mutter words that he couldn't hear. He held his remaining sword in front of him and began to charge his attack. The spell he was muttering was his fastest attack. Last time she had escaped with most of her hair.  
  
She drew the glowing rod from behind her back and crossed it with the sword. "You know, Jinn. You should keep your eye on your opponent."  
  
She jumped forward and smacked him hard on the head with the rod. It wouldn't pierce his skin, but it hurt like hell and she knew it. He was knocked out of his concentration and fell towards the ground. Her stun attack wasn't going to last long. Most of her attacks were short and convenient, and the ones that she did have to charge left her energy deprived. She sped towards the earth, ramming into him to rough him up a bit. The stun would only last about two minutes, so she had to work fast.  
  
*********************  
  
Logan jerked his head skywards and saw the two forms slamming into each other. He jumped aside, barely missing the two swords that fell to the ground. The larger form grabbed the smaller one and hurled it towards the snow. There was a cloud of uplifted snow, and he saw Pix fly out of the snow towards the form. She grabbed his arms and flitted behind him, taking his waist in her legs and holding two of his arms.  
  
His extra two arms unwound her long legs and threw her into a tree. She rubbed her back; the shock had hurt, but there was no physical injury. She looked up at Logan.  
  
"You're that Pix girl, aren't ya?" he grunted. "Need help?"  
  
She stood up and shook her head before her feet were ripped out from beneath her. Jinn grabbed her legs and arms with his hands and held them together. She felt him squeeze his arms tighter, crushing her between them.  
  
"No… *cough* Get…out… *cough* of here… *cough*."  
  
She threw her head backwards, knocking him hard in the chin. He growled and loosened his hold on her. She squirmed out of his grasp and twirled around, sending a nice kick into his stomach. He fell into the snow and stood up, moving his head just in time to avoid the flying sword.  
  
"Dude, get out!"  
  
Wolverine stood by and watched the show. Pix had taken up the sword again and had come daringly close to killing the brown guy. She tried to wave him away, but he stood there, ready to pounce in should she need it.  
  
Jinn stood up and held the slung sword in his hand. He watched her across the snow, not even bothering to notice Wolverine standing in the corner. She began to mutter a spell, making sure he heard her.  
  
"You can't do that one, half-breed," he sneered, an over confidant smile crawling across his face. "You'll blow yourself up while trying."  
  
Little did he know, she had been meditating for a few years after their first encounter, drawing enough magic power into her small form to perform it safely. It would leave her slightly drained, but if it was a direct hit, it would end the fight. If she missed, well, she would probably lose more than her hair.  
  
Jinn stared at her, but his smirk was beginning to fade. She wasn't draining. He grabbed his sword and charged at her, but she knew he would do that. She kicked her foot under the second sword and flipped it into her hand.  
  
Wolverine felt his lungs jump into his throat. The head fell first, followed by the body. He kept repeating to himself that she didn't kill him, but she was more heartless than any teenager that he'd ever seen.  
  
Jinn's lifeless body had not come easy. Pix's shoulder was killing her, literally. She held the wound together, but she had no way of healing it. She looked at Wolverine and fell to her knees in the red snow. He began to speak into his watch, and she had no clue of his intentions.  
  
"Don't worry, Pinky. Help's on the way. Just don't die now after that grand show."  
  
"Curse you. This is no time for jokes…"  
  
Pixie felt the world around her start to spin, but she did not close her eyes nor did she topple over. She remained in the snow, her coat shiny from the blood that she was sitting in. She watched Logan dig through his pack, getting out one of his shirts. He ripped it and tried to bandage her shoulder, but since it was at a strange angle, the bandages didn't hold very well.  
  
She didn't go to sleep.  
  
"Where'd you learn to fight like that?" he asked on the plane while Jean and Ororo administered proper first aid.  
  
"Ow. Been alive for a long time, so I took on some new hobbies. Martial arts, sword fighting, lots of it's pretty awesome. I'm glad I got his last two swords. That's definitely going to be a consolation prize."  
  
Logan didn't talk to her much on her trip, but she met Kurt, the fuzzy blue elf that captures everyone's heart. Kurt kept asking questions like a two year old in his 'Why' stage. She answered as many as she could, but she felt boggled down by some of them.  
  
"Kurt, leave her alone. She's hurt and has massive blood loss," Jean said from her seat.  
  
"Ah, Jean, it's no trouble. He's actually making me feel much better," laughed Pix from the back.  
  
"I don't think that you ver ever vorse," he said.  
  
Pix sat in the seat, her seatbelt lightly straining against the pressure in her shoulder. "So tell me about this X-Men thing, Jean."  
  
"We're like…a mutant superhero group."  
  
"Ah, who's the leader?"  
  
"Charles Xavier," Ororo said.  
  
"Cool."  
  
"You want to join? You're a mutant and all," Jean asked.  
  
Pixie shook her head. "No, I don't think the Brotherhood would like that."  
  
"You're in with the Brotherhood?"  
  
"Well, we're buds and everything. I know Wanda from her past, and Todd's pretty cool."  
  
There was an awkward silence in the plane after that, especially from Kurt.  
  
*****************************  
  
Wanda slowed her pace to a walk, the darkness around her comforting. There was a cold breeze tonight, and that did not settle her nerves. Pyro was following Pixie, but she wouldn't join Magneto's cause because she wasn't really into killing or hurting people.   
  
She'd probably befriend them too.  
  
Todd was head over heels for her. Pietro liked her too. At least Lance had his mind on someone mortal. She didn't miss Todd, but she had to admit that her life was much more…interesting when he was following her. She felt saddened that he had gone after another because she hardly ever had the chance to see him anymore.  
  
"Wanda, why are you all by yourself?"  
  
Wanda looked up at the rooftop of the building next to her. Smiling in a very mischievous manner, Pixie peered over the side.  
  
"Pixie, you're back?"  
  
She nodded. "Of course I'm back. You can't get rid of me that easily."  
  
Pixie jumped down to the sidewalk, and Wanda could see that her shoulder was bandaged under her clothes.  
  
"What happened?"  
  
Pixie nodded her head sideways. "I took Jinn out. There's only two of them now."  
  
Wanda smiled. "Well, I'm glad you're alive."  
  
"Look, uh… I need to go home to see Marcie. Would you give these to Todd?" she asked, drawing her coat open to show the two swords.  
  
Wanda nodded. "The other two and that flute of yours are at the Brotherhood too. Todd's been kinda…quiet. I think he's love struck."  
  
Pixie grew quiet. "You aren't upset because he's…with me, are you?"  
  
Wanda shook her head. "Todd isn't my idea of the perfect man. He's cool in a very gross and disgusting way, but if he's someone that you've looked for, hey, be my guest."  
  
Pixie nodded. "You want me to give you a ride home?"  
  
Wanda shook her head. "No, I need to walk around for a little. Give me those swords. I can hide them in my coat."  
  
Pixie drew the blades and handed them to Wanda. The witch took them and slid them through her belt.  
  
"I'm going to go. Goodnight, Wanda. I'll talk to you later."  
  
Pixie hugged Wanda softly, and her mind traveled back to the cold days at the asylum. The warmth that she received from her friend meant more to her than anything.  
  
Pixie's coat fluttered up behind her as she opened her wings. There was a hum as she flew a few feet off the ground.  
  
Pixie took off into the night, leaving Wanda by herself on the cold street. 


	12. Fly Away

Treble Clef By Silver Falcon  
  
Chapter Twelve  
  
Lance opened the door to the boarding house when the three knocks had sounded. He sent a slight glare in the pink-haired girl's direction before smiling happily and rushing back to the phone. Pixie grinned and walked inside, leading the smaller boy inside after her. She closed it and watched Lance look at her suspiciously from the phone.  
  
"He's a friend of mine," she said. "Touch him and die."  
  
The boy looked about high school age, and he looked at Lance with bright green eyes that whispered more than secrets. He wore a shirt that was way to big for him and blue denim shorts. From the sound of his footsteps, he was wearing sandals.  
  
Pixie ushered the boy to the couch next to Lance and hugged him tightly. "Wait right here."  
  
She fixed her coat and smiled, ruffling his hair before walking upstairs. Jerry drew his knees up, his feet sliding elegantly out of the sandals, and rested them on the edge of the sofa, carefully turning his head to look at Lance who was mindlessly talking on the phone. He raised one hand, smoothed his naturally messy red hair, and continued to curiously stare at the other boy. When he noticed that Lance began to get agitated with his gaze, he averted it in another direction, not wanting to cause trouble.  
  
Pixie walked upstairs and knocked on Todd's door.  
  
"Pietro, go away!"  
  
"Todd, it's me," she laughed.  
  
She heard a thud from the other side of the door, and the doorknob turned. Todd opened the door and jumped on her, knocking her into the other wall. She hugged him and laughed again.  
  
"You're back!" he said happily.  
  
She hugged him and took his hand softly in hers. "I want you to meet someone."  
  
His smile faded slightly, and he nodded. "Who?"  
  
She pulled him downstairs and pointed to the little boy on the couch. "Him. His name is Jerry."  
  
Todd hopped over the railing and over to the couch. "Name's Toad!"  
  
Jerry shyly extended his hand. "Jerry."  
  
Todd took his hand and shook it quickly. "Welcome to the Brotherhood House yo!"  
  
Pixie walked over to them and sat next to Jerry. "He's been a friend of mine for a long time. He was a mutant like you, and his power was eternal life. Unfortunately, he was killed and was later reincarnated as Gabriel. This is both of them in one body."  
  
Todd scratched the back of his neck. "Cool?"  
  
"He's gonna be around Bayville for a while, and I think Marcie wants to adopt him. He doesn't like to talk much, but he's a really nice guy."  
  
Jerry smiled and hid his face in his knees, covering his small blush.  
  
Pixie smiled and hugged him.  
  
"Where's Wanda?" the half-blood asked, looking around.  
  
"Oh, she went out early this morning to look for Pietro," Todd said, crouching on the floor. "Speaking of Speedy, he wants to go on a date with you Saturday."  
  
Pixie looked confused. "If it's okay with you, sure, but why?"  
  
"Because if you don't," Todd started sheepishly, "then he's going to kill me."  
  
Pixie laughed. "I think we should get out of here and let Lance talk." She stood up and hurried the two boys outside, where Jerry sat down in the grass next to a bush. "What were you planning to do today, Todd?"  
  
"Just hang around the house, I guess. Maybe visit a dumpster or two. I dunno."  
  
He spied a grasshopper, and his tongue shot out of his mouth. There was a loud crunch as he bit down, but the two immortals didn't seem disgusted at all.  
  
"You want to go down to Georgia? I'll bring you back tomorrow, and that'll leave Saturday for Pietro's date," Pixie asked.  
  
Todd nearly choked on his grasshopper. "What? Georgia? Oh.right. You can fly. I guess."  
  
Jerry smiled and looked at Pixie. "Home," he whispered.  
  
Pixie stood up and stretched. "I'll go tell Lance. Where's Fred? I haven't seen him anywhere today either."  
  
"He's at a monster truck rally."  
  
"Oh, cool. Well, be right back."  
  
Todd watched as she disappeared inside the door, her coat flowing in a delicate curve behind her. He sat on the grass with his chin in his hands and sighed. Jerry laughed.  
  
"She's pretty, isn't she?" he said.  
  
"Yeah. Gorgeous. What's in Georgia?"  
  
"Home."  
  
Jerry stood up and stretched his arms. Pixie came out of the house, waving goodbye to Lance. She closed the door and sent the two boys a thumbs up sign.  
  
"We are moving! Jerry, you get one hand and I'll get the other, okay?"  
  
Todd felt odd holding hands with a guy, but he decided that at least he was holding her hand. That made up for everything.  
  
"One, two, three!"  
  
Todd squirmed ferociously as he felt his feet leave the ground. He felt both his hands tighten.  
  
"Todd, it's okay. We won't drop you," Pixie said calmly, reaching down with her other hand to grab him around his waist. "It's okay. Calm down."  
  
It took a few minutes for him to chill, but eventually, she released him, and he experienced what it felt like to fly. Both of their touches was gentle and in sync with the other. They looked nothing a like, but they knew each other in a personal manner. Todd felt the air whip past him while he watched the city of Bayville fly by below him at an alarming rate.  
  
He turned his head to the left and looked at Pixie. She didn't notice that he was watching, and soon his eyes went to her wings. He couldn't see them, but he could see her jacket flutter around her as they flapped. Jerry's wings were white and looked very soft. They beat carefully, gracefully, almost in a manner that they were afraid to move. He stayed aloft with ease, and Todd watched the scenery.  
  
"Wow. This is.so.awesome," he gasped, his huge smile making both of the fliers smile.  
  
"It's certainly better than walking. Not as fast as Pietro, but it's.fast."  
  
Jerry seemed to be enjoying the scenery too. He was following Pix, because he was lagging slightly behind. It was very cool this high above the world, but it felt really good, just like her hand. His grip on her hand was slightly tighter than Jerry's, and she still felt soft.  
  
He wanted that kiss. Todd came to the conclusion that it was half-and-half, but he wasn't sure if she had anything to do with the reality half. It might be toad intuition or something. He might have dreamed the entire thing up, but hey, she had seemed awkward about Pietro's date, so maybe she did have something to do with it. Todd suddenly noticed that her arm was bandaged.  
  
"What happened to your arm?" he asked, staring at the wound harshly.  
  
She looked at him and then her shoulder. "Oh, I found one of the assassins after I dropped Jerry off at Marcie's. I killed him and gained that. It's nothing. I'll probably disappear in a week or two."  
  
"You need to stop getting hurt yo. You're too troublesome for a girl. Just the way I likes ya!"  
  
***************************************  
  
"Pietro, what nonsense is this?" the voice growled from over the phone.  
  
"Look, I'll tell you one more time! There is a mutant here that I think you want to meet. She's not even close to human, Magneto. She's just.you have to meet her."  
  
"You of all people.," his father droned sadly.  
  
"What are you talking about?"  
  
"Falling in love at that age. How pathetic is this girl, anyway?"  
  
-click-  
  
****************************************  
  
Wanda sat on the edge of a tree branch, staring down into a park next to an elementary school. All of them were kids, all the people playing in the park were kids five years old or near that. They were all so innocent. No doubt they had been visited by their fairy guardian. She managed to do is spiritually, even though she was other places physically. She had a knack at doing that. And she did it to every child on earth. Wanda couldn't do what she could. She wouldn't have the patience, even if she had fairy blood in her. She just couldn't do it.  
  
She had never been gifted with the innocent life that the children below her had. She had spent her days locked in a steel room with that horrible jacket surrounding her. She cringed. She did not wish to remember those days now, not now. Not now. She slid down from the tree and began to walk again. It was barely three, and it wasn't like she was heading to school today. School was such a waste of time. She didn't even go through elementary or middle, why high school?  
  
It was all so confusing, unlike the simple joys of holding a doll. It just was different. She felt so placid when she was around the park now. It.was.almost.like.a.dream.  
  
****************************  
  
It was amazing. Humans couldn't fly for a reason, but give one wings and they're off like naturals. Jerry wasn't human, not anymore. He knew death. He knew birth. He knew rebirth. Humans do not know those things. They have never known those things.  
  
Even she did not know those things.  
  
She knew birth. Just birth, not death. She knew life.  
  
Pixus, Pixie, Pix. Just names for the physical body. All names for what would eventually die and return to the earth.  
  
What of the soul?  
  
Was it possible to name one's soul?  
  
Todd had a large grin still pasted to his face as he watched the land fly quickly before his eyes. Their hands had gotten sweaty from clasping each other for so long, but that didn't bother them. Flying felt so normal. Not like walking or driving. It had the feel that one had when he walked on a treadmill and then got off. The lighter than air feeling that makes one just fly off the ground.  
  
Pix was lost to the world, just sensing all the feeling that was radiating off of her young friend. She had two assassins after her. Both wanted her dead. Todd was at risk. If they found out about him, they could use him against her. Wanda and Rogue as well. Pietro was at the greatest risk. They knew what he looked like. They could pick him off the street if they wanted to. Pietro needed her protection.  
  
Jerry was safe as long as he stayed with Marcie. Jerry knew the danger that she was in. He knew about the assassins.  
  
Todd did not. He knew they were dangerous, but he didn't know how dangerous they could get. She had to practice her spells more. After her fight with Jinn, she realized how much she had forgot. Those spells, and all she could summon was a stalling spell. How pathetic. Forez and Oribisus would be harder to kill than Jinn. And certainly after they found out that their friend was dead, they would be just as pissed.  
  
The treetops became more dense. They were nearing her secret haven after about four hours of flight. Todd was still just as interested as he had been. The swamp was only a few miles away, as was the old cabin. Pix smelled the familiar scent of complete freedom and found that her soul had truly missed it. 


End file.
